Kurisutaru: The KindHearted Shinobi
by Kris Harold
Summary: What happens when there's a ninja that doesn't want to hurt anyone, no matter what they do to her? When she gets tangled in an oncoming war, what will she choose amongst the chaos? Can she count on her friends and family help her?
1. Chapter 1: Melting the Ice

**Chapter 1: Melting the Ice**

Naruto was storming down the street on his way to the Hokage's office to argue once again with Lady Tsunade to allow him to search for his best friend and rival: Sasuke Uchiha. Turning around a corner, his blinding determination caused him to be oblivious to the girl in front of him, crashing into her as they both fell to the ground. The blonde rubbed his head sorely and groaned. "Hey, watch where you're going!"

"I'm sorry," she said as she began to gather the books she dropped in the crash, "I was distracted and I guess I didn't see you."

'_Story of my life…_' When he looked up to see who he ran into, Naruto saw a young girl, though she was older than he. She had raven hair that rolled past her shoulders that contrasted beautifully against her pink sundress. "Are you okay?"

Brushing off her dress, she nodded as she stood. "Yeah, I'm fine." Looking over the younger blonde boy in front of her, she asked, "You're Naruto, right?"

He nodded. "How'd you know that?"

She turned to look up at the stone Hokage faces that towered over the Village. "One of favorite places in the Village is on top of the Hokage Faces and I was there when Iruka-sensei was yelling at you to clean up what you did to it a few months ago," she said, referring to when the boy had painted the memorials as a prank.

"Oh, I see," Naruto chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, still sitting on the ground.

"I have just one thing to say to you about that childish prank," she announced threateningly. The blonde prepared himself for verbal abuse or even to be sent flying with a punch as she bent down to see him eye-to-eye. "The colors you used didn't match very well." Standing, she snickered to herself as she began to walk away. "I'm on an errand so I guess this'll have to wait!"

Naruto watched as she walked away, standing and continuing to the Hokage's office to finish his mission. '_Who _was_ she?_'

"Do you know anyone like that, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked his former teacher as they sat together at Ichiraku Ramen. He had just told the fatherly man about his encounter with the older girl that morning as he was trying to find out who she was.

Iruka thought hard about the description. "I don't think so. It sounds familiar, though."

Naruto was contemplating over the girl as he ate his bowl of ramen, not even paying attention to the new customer that sat down two seats away from his former teacher on the opposite side that he was sitting. "Hey, there! I haven't seen _you_ around here in a while. I was starting to think you didn't like my cooking anymore," the cook said to the girl.

"No one can beat _your_ cooking, old man," she replied.

He chuckled. "Do you want the usual?"

"If you can still remember it; yes, please." She looked over at the other two customers. "Hey, Iruka-sensei."

Naruto looked over and recognized her immediately as the man answered, "Kurisutaru, how are you? I haven't seen you since your fight in the Chuunin Exams. It's a little late, but: congratulations!"

Naruto nudged the man and whispered, "That's her! You know her? Who is she?"

"That's Kurisutaru Tetsu," he briefly whispered in return.

"I've been pretty well, I guess. I've been doing a lot of research for Teinei along with training, missions, and trying to keep things up since my mother died," she tried to sound cheerful but it was hollow.

"I heard about that. I'm sorry I couldn't be there. How're you three holding up?" Iruka lifted his cup of tea as he listened, the girl's ramen just arriving.

"Teinei insists he's fine, but he's always away on missions. He should be returning soon, actually. Marugo was quietly grieving for a little while, but he's back to normal now, by the sound of his letters," Kurisutaru ate a chopstick-full of ramen when she finished.

"And what about you?"

She paused, allowing her bangs to fall into her face and shade her eyes. "I… keep myself busy."

Iruka sighed quietly. He knew everyone handled grieving differently but he also knew that simply ignoring it by working couldn't be healthy. "I see."

When she began eating her ramen in silence, the cook asked, "Why don't you smile anymore, Kurisutaru?"

She didn't answer when Naruto debated, "What are you talking about? She's been smiling this whole time!"

He shook his head. "You must not have known her for very long, then. Anyone who's seen her smile before knows that wasn't a real smile."

The blonde was confused. "Not… her real smile?" He looked over at her as she ate her ramen in silence.

"That's right!" he declared. "Kurisutaru can smile like no other. It could be enough to melt ice, I'd bet."

"You exaggerate, old man," she muttered with a small smile.

"Not by much!" He smiled and returned to his work.

Night fell around them when the seat next to Kurisutaru was taken by a blonde boy in black. He sat awfully close to her and Naruto assumed the boy was her boyfriend. He was whispering things in her ear that their audience couldn't hear. It wasn't long before she stood, leaving the money for her meal. "It was nice talking to you, Iruka-sensei. Thanks for the ramen, old man. You haven't lost your touch," she said quietly before she left. The boy followed her closely like a leech without a word to the others.

Iruka watched as they left without a word before paying for the ramen for himself and former student. "Good-night, Naruto," he said as he left for home.

"Yeah, and thanks for treating me to ramen, sensei," Naruto waved in return as he left Ichiraku Ramen. "See you later, old man!" He began his way down the dark streets of Konoha with his hands resting casually behind his head as he enjoyed the feeling of his belly full of his favorite ramen.

Kurisutaru walked down the dark streets as she was followed by Motobe until he forced her down an alley. "You can't ignore me," he said with a sinister smirk. He pinned her against the wall until he felt her shudder under the pressure he was applying against the girl's body. The blonde looked around to see if anyone was in sight other than his two friends posted on nearby rooftops as backup.

"Motobe… stop it. I… can't breathe," she pleaded.

He pressed his arm harder across her chest until she released a raspy, quiet cry of pain. "Don't tell me what to do, kuroi akki." She couldn't answer as she placed her arms on his shoulders to push him away as she bent her legs to become closer to the ground.

"Let…" he pushed harder as her hand grasped a handful of sandy dirt, "me… _go_!" Throwing the dirt into Motobe's eyes, Kurisutaru gasped for air as he released her and scrambled to exit the alley. "Leave me alone!"

Naruto turned to look behind him. Kurisutaru emerged from an alley he had passed a few yards back. She appeared to be crying as she gasped for breath, one hand over her chest near her neck. "Kurisutaru?"

She ignored Naruto and ran past him. When she reached just as far ahead of him as she had emerged behind, another boy jumped from a neighboring rooftop and tackled her. Naruto looked back to the alley where she had come to see Motobe rubbing his eyes angrily. "Dammit… You're _dead_, kuroi akki!"

Kurisutaru squirmed frantically from underneath the boy above her. When he dug his knee between her shoulder blades angrily, she stopped struggling and lay face-down in the dirt, crying quietly. "Leave me alone… _Please_, Motobe…"

Naruto ran forward and punched the boy who was pinning Kurisutaru in the face. "What are you _doing_?" As far as he could tell, she was a kind person, so why would these guys treat her like this?

Walking toward them, Motobe chuckled. "You don't know much, kid, do you? I can do whatever I want because _this_ is the kuroi akki of the Tetsu family. Besides, she knows that she can't avoid me." He smiled devilishly as he watched the girl slowly pulling herself from the ground. "Don't you, akki?"

Kurisutaru didn't look up at either of them as she slowly rose from the ground. "He hasn't done anything, Motobe," she muttered, "Please, don't hurt him."

Naruto looked between the two older shinobi with confusion. He was about to ask what she was talking about when Motobe tackled him. "Oh, I won't hurt him. As if a little brat like this could hurt me, anyway."

This flared Naruto's anger as he threw the older boy off of his back. "Hey, watch it! I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

Motobe snorted in amusement as he began to walk over to Kurisutaru. "Enough of this, kuroi akki. Let's go."

Her eyes widened before she closed them and shuddered, sinking to the ground again. She heard Naruto running forward to stop the older boy's advances when three boys appeared, standing in front of the girl defensively with scowls on their faces.

"You're disgusting, Motobe," Daichi snarled.

Kaki knelt down to his terrified teammate. "Are you okay? What'd he do?"

"I _told_ you," Uindo told his other two teammates quietly. "And _you_ think my jutsu's stupid."

"Fine, you were right! Let it go," Kaki rolled his eyes.

Naruto was still on the defensive as he stood a few feet behind Motobe. "Who are _you_ guys?"

"Formally, we're her teammates, but we are also her friends." Daichi was glaring at Motobe again.

"Such a cold face; you're going to hurt my feelings, Daichi," the sinister blonde sneered.

"I'm going to hurt a _lot_ more than your feelings!" Uindo said as he drew a kunai from his waist pack.

"That's too bad," Motobe sighed. The sarcasm in his demeanor reminded Naruto of the snake-master Orochimaru. "I'd love to stay and catch up, but I'm afraid I have other plans."

When Daichi and Uindo charged forward to attack the boy, he was gone in a flash. "Dammit! Get back here, you coward!" Uindo growled as he looked around for sight of him.

"Who was that guy?" Naruto asked, looking between the three boys and glimpsing Kurisutaru crouched into a ball and crying. "What did he want with Kurisutaru?"

Daichi looked at the blonde sternly. "You're Naruto, right? My advice to you is just go home. This doesn't concern you."

"What? No way!" He wasn't about to simply walk away after seeing that. It was unthinkable for him.

Kurisutaru raised her head from her protective ball to see Kaki's face. His hand was on her back as his gentle eyes searched her tear-stained face. "Are you all right?"

She looked down at her knees, which were perched in front of her chest. "Please, not so close," she whispered in an apologetic tone.

He obeyed her wishes respectfully and backed away, removing his hand from her back. "Are you hurt?"

"Nothing I can't handle."

"That isn't what I asked you."

Ignoring him, Kurisutaru climbed to her feet and brushed herself off as the four boys watched her. "Thanks, guys, but I'm going home. Good-night."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey! I want an answer!" When she ignored him and continued walking, he chased after her.

Daichi sighed while scratching his head. "You two handle it. I'm going home."

"You just don't want to mess with your cousin for not protecting Kurisutaru," Kaki grumbled. He was met with a cold glare, telling him he had touched on his teammate's nerves. After the Buke left, Kaki sighed. "Just keep your ears open, Uindo. I'm hungry."

"Sounds fair to me. Let's go," he sighed.

Kurisutaru wiped her eyes as the blonde pestered her for answers. "What happened back there? Why was that Motobe-guy trying to hurt you? Does Granny Tsunade know about this?"

Deciding to only answer the last question, she shook her head. "No, Lady Tsunade doesn't know. She's too busy of a woman to worry about something like this." She stopped walking to look at the younger boy as if deep in thought. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked after a long silence. "Why aren't you teasing me or telling me to go bleach my hair?"

Naruto blinked, processing her questions through his mind. "Why _wouldn't_ I be? And why would I tell you to dye your hair?"

Kurisutaru sighed, frustrated as if he was doing something wrong by not teasing her. "Because I'm Kurisutaru _Tetsu_ and I have black hair!"

"Yeah, so?"

"You obviously have never met someone from the Tetsu family." Taking a deep breath, she started walking again. "You'll have to see for yourself." Kurisutaru walked as she thought with the blonde close by. "Motobe… has been that way for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was little, he's found joy in getting me alone and fighting me…"

"It didn't look like much of a fight. He was the only one throwing blows," Naruto pointed out. He thought he saw a hint of a sad smile cross her face. "Why didn't you fight back, anyway?" Now he was sure there had been a smile as he saw it disappear.

"Because… I can't. I haven't been able to for years." Kurisutaru reached her hand to the locket around her neck, opening it to see the picture inside. "I just freeze up when I see him."

"Why?" Naruto stepped in front of her so she had to look into his cerulean blue eyes.

She looked into the honestly curious gaze before looking back at the photo. "Just… because." Kurisutaru sidestepped the blonde, snapping the locket shut, as she continued walking until a figure fell from the sky and stood in front of her. Calmly taking a step back, she looked up at the new arrival. "I didn't think you'd be back until tomorrow."

The moonlight lit up the boy's features as Naruto watched carefully, suspicious it could be Motobe again. White hair glowed in the light as the black-and-white-wearing boy removed his ponytail holder and smiled at Kurisutaru. "When they told me I could come home after my mission, I came as fast as I could. I haven't even seen Lord Hokage yet to tell him it was a success!"

'Lord_ Hokage? Where has this guy _been_ the last few months?_' Naruto looked at the boy closely. He was taller than Kurisutaru and even appeared older but he supposed the height was the reason it seemed that way.

"Teinei, while you were away, there was an attack during the Chuunin Exams. Lord Hokage was assassinated during the attack," Kurisutaru told him carefully. "We have a new Hokage: Lady Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin."

"Yeah, and she's a grumpy old bat," Naruto mumbled.

The moment Teinei's eyes fell on the blonde, his eyes widened. "Kurisutaru, do you _know_ who that _is_?"

She stepped between Teinei and Naruto. "_Don't_, Teinei!" Looking him sternly in the eyes, she said, "He's just walking me home since I ran into Motobe."

"_Motobe_ ran into you?" Teinei pulled out a kunai from his leg holster. "He's nearby, isn't he? Tell me where he is. I'll kill him," he growled, forgetting entirely about the whiskered blonde that he was previously angry about.

"_No_, Teinei! You _can't_ kill him! It's not worth it," Kurisutaru trailed off. Her tone of voice told them her mindset was 'I'm _not worth it…_'

He sighed in defeat. "This'll have to wait until morning." Teinei stepped forward to see Kurisutaru's cuts and scrapes more easily. "Are any of them bothering you?" Despite her silence, he placed a hand on the left side of her back, over her ribs. "You're handling that one pretty well; it's a doozy," he noted as his hand glowed white.

"Are you her brother or something?" Naruto was being driven crazy by the fact no one would tell him what was going on.

Teinei shot a short glare at him before focusing his attention on his friend's injuries again. "Get out of here, Kyuubi," he muttered.

Before Naruto could even glare or start yelling at the boy for such a comment, Kurisutaru spoke up. "Let it go, Teinei. Naruto had nothing to do with it." She turned to smile at the blonde. "You're welcome to come over any time. Ignore Teinei's rudeness." Shrugging the boy's hand away, she stood and walked for home with a smile on her face. Once they reached the Tetsu District, she turned back to Naruto. "_Now_, do you see?"

He looked around and saw several people, understanding immediately as he remembered her words: _I'm Kurisutaru _Tetsu_ and I have black hair!_ The blonde looked back at her face to see her continue to smile despite the scattered scowls she was receiving. ''_It takes a great deal of courage to hide sadness with laughter.' The Third used to say that… I wonder if it's the same if you smile.'_ Naruto thought about what the old man at Ichiraku said, as well. '_Anyone who's seen her smile before knows that wasn't a real smile._'

Kurisutaru stopped at the door of a large house and drew a deep breath. "I'm home." It was like breathing a sigh of relief as she looked at the familiar building. Motobe couldn't touch her here. She was safe. Teinei walked past her and into the house and stood in the doorway, waiting for his friend. She turned to Naruto and smiled. "Thanks for walking with me. See you around, Naruto."

He grinned and answered with a thumbs-up. "You bet, Kurisutaru!" Naruto looked closely at her face as the door closed. '_The old man was right. That's not a real smile._'

"Why were you with the Kyuubi tonight?" Teinei asked as he hung his jacket on the coat rack in the entry. His silver shackles on his wrists glinted in the light as he rubbed at them lightly to ease the soreness of chafing skin. "You and I _both_ know the Kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto Uzumaki that night. Why would you be around him when he's the one who killed your father?"

"It's sealed _inside_ him. That doesn't make _him_ the demon fox." Kurisutaru removed her shoes in the doorway before proceeding inside.

"Don't tell me you haven't given up on that idea of yours. If you try to meet _and_ become friends with Jinchuuriki, you'll get hurt. Akatsuki is after them, you know. They'll kill anyone who gets in their way without a second thought and Marugo and I can't always be there to protect you! When was the last time you saw him, anyway? At Rikka's funeral?"

"He said he might come back to Konoha, and _yes_, I _do_ still want to meet Jinchuuriki and become their friend. If you're worrying so much about protecting me, then stop."

"I couldn't do that even if I tried, and you know it," he said apologetically. "Just be careful, all right? And just because _you're_ friends with him, doesn't mean _I_ have to be, got it?"

"Don't worry so much," she assured gently as Kurisutaru climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Closing the door to her room, she smiled to herself as she thought of the blonde with a magnetic personality. '_Naruto Uzumaki… You are truly his son._'


	2. Chapter 2: Endless Questions

**Chapter 2: Endless Questions**

"You _are_ aware that you were to report with me as soon as you returned yesterday, right, Teinei?" Tsunade peered at the boy from her desk, hands neatly folded in front of her face as if deep in thought.

Teinei was kneeling in front of the Hokage from the center of the office, head bowed. "Yes, I am. My apologies: I had some responsibilities to take care of."

"Your first responsibility was to report back to me on the result of your mission, especially since we've had no contact with you for nearly five months. What do you have to say?"

"I have no excuse," he replied flatly.

She scanned through a stack of papers on her desk before stopping on one and continuing. "It says here that you refuse to change ranks or be assigned to a team."

"If you don't mind my saying so, it's not as much that I do not _want_ a team, it's that no team wants _me_. They see my training methods as too harsh."

Tsunade nodded. "You are a member of the Buke clan?"

"I _was_ a member of the Buke clan."

"Nonetheless, that is where you adapted your training techniques, right?"

"Yes, that's correct." Teinei nodded. No one but another member of the Buke clan would dismiss the harsh training.

"Let's see… How did it go when you were on Team 36?" She peered over the document at the boy. "You never failed a mission with them."

"I was a temporary replacement as a sensei while their teammate was absent. It was decided that I would bow out when Daichi returned since the squad would be too large and my cousin and I couldn't get along."

Tsunade didn't make a comment, having read about the boy's family issues. After watching Teinei for a moment, she set down her papers and sighed. "For the time being, I want you to stay in the Village. I'll notify you if a mission comes up."

He mentally growled in frustration at not receiving a new mission immediately but he stood and nodded respectfully at the woman. "Yes; thank-you, Lady Tsunade." Teinei turned and left the office to see Kurisutaru waiting for him outside the door.

She was balancing a notebook on her arm and writing in it with the other. Smiling, she held up a piece of parchment for her friend to see. "A letter from Marugo came in today. He says he's going to try to get permission to visit Konoha soon."

Teinei looked at the piece of paper and shrugged with a smile. "Kanojo will be ecstatic." The two snickered at the thought. "He'll have a little purple magnet following him around everywhere!" he laughed.

"I'd rather have her around all the time than not at all," Kurisutaru said as she sipped her notebook and pencil inside her messenger bag. Looking up at the taller boy, she smiled. "Are you ready to go?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have to train today?"

"Later, I will. For now, I'm free."

"Anyway, I can't right now. I have to check things at my house and I have to do some training of my own." Seeing the disappointed look on her face, he sighed. "I can put it off, if you want."

She shook her head. "That's all right. I'll find something to do. Maybe I'll see if Kaki or Uindo are busy."

Teinei shrugged. "All right, then. You know how to find me if you need me. See you later." In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Kurisutaru sighed and walked several doors down, into the Hokage's library. Retrieving a large stack of books, she sat down at a desk to read, taking detailed notes in one of her notebooks. Several books were open at once as she searched for answers or clues to her questions, soaking up all the knowledge she could manage.

Naruto was storming to the Hokage's office again to pester her about searching for Sasuke as he thought about the night before. '_Why was she so scared of Motobe like that? I've never seen anyone be that afraid of someone like that… not even in battle…!_' He felt like a pacing old man as questions rolled through his head. '_And what did I have nothing to do with? What does Teinei need to let go of?_'

Passing an open door, he looked up to see Kurisutaru inside. There were five open books spread out on the table with a large stack of more books and scrolls next to them as she worked diligently, writing in her notebook as she read. Her hair was neatly tied back in a half-ponytail to keep it out of her way. Consumed in the books, she hadn't noticed the blonde enter the room, watching her. "Hey, Kurisutaru."

She jumped out of the chair with a gasp and distanced herself from the table. "I'm sorry!" she replied frantically. When she realized it was Naruto, she relaxed. "You scared me, Naruto," she laughed nervously as she returned to the table.

"What are you doing in here?" He attempted to read the text of one of the books or her notes, but she quickly closed them and began returning them to their appropriate locations on the shelves.

"I'm just reading a little; how about you?"

"I was going to talk to Granny Tsunade about a mission to find my friend Sasuke." He caught a glimpse of the title of two of the books: _Artificially-Harnessed Chakra_ and _The Encyclopedia of Medical Conditions Recorded in the Land of Fire_.

"Do you have any leads on Lord Orochimaru's whereabouts?" When there was no answer, she continued replacing scrolls and books to their proper locations. "I'm sure Lady Tsunade will tell you as soon as she gets any leads. You should be more patient, Naruto."

"But, if _I_ don't find him, _nobody_ will!"

Kurisutaru turned and smiled at him after putting away the last of the documents. "We're not asking you to give up or stop looking. Just be patient until you find something you can use to find him." She looked out a window distractedly. "Even those who work for him often don't know where to find him. Only people who work directly under him know where he is, when it suits his needs."

Naruto raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "How do you know that?"

"It's a long story, but in short," she closed her eyes and drew a deep breath before looking at the blonde, "A few years ago, one of the best friends was forced into working for Lord Orochimaru. I was twelve the last time I saw or heard from him." Kurisutaru laughed to herself as she thought of Lady Tsunade as their Hokage. "I first met him when he came here looking for Lady Tsunade for help and Lord Orochimaru used that fact to prey on him."

"I'll bring your friend back, too, if you want," he said, watching her distracted expression.

She shook her head slowly. "I offered to help him last time I saw him, but he refused. He has his own plans and he's determined to carry them out." Kurisutaru smiled up at Naruto. "Do you want to get some ramen with me?"

Glancing out of the room with thought, he finally answered, "You bet! Are you ready or do you want to read some more?"

She nodded. "Let's go." In any case, she wanted to leave before someone else caught her reading the Hokage's confidential files in her personal library.

While they were walking through town, Naruto decided to pelt her with questions once again. "So, what's with that Teinei guy? Is he your older brother or something?"

"Well, for starters, he's actually younger than I am. He's thirteen and I'm fifteen." Ignoring his shocked reaction, she continued, "And he's not my brother. He's a very good friend of mine that's lived with us since we were kids. After his parents were killed, my mother wouldn't accept any other option for him."

"His parents were killed? By who?" He knew these questions were reaching a personal level, but he would ask for as long as she would answer. "And wouldn't your father make that kind of decision?"

"Teinei's parents were betrayed on a mission to Otogakure," Kurisutaru gently removed the elastic tie from her hair to let it fall, "My father was killed in the fight with Kyuubi twelve years ago."

Teinei's words from the previous night started echoing through Naruto's mind. '_'Get out of here, Kyuubi.' 'Kurisutaru, do you _know_ who that _is_?'_' "Do you… hate the Kyuubi, too?"

She paused a moment for thought. "No, not really. No amount of hate can bring people back from the dead. All we can do is move forward and make life better."

The sincerity of her words made the blonde smile as he noticed her smiling face. It was different from what he'd seen before. '_'Anyone who's seen her smile before knows that wasn't' a real smile.'_' Naruto's smile turned into a wide grin as he looked closer at it. '_'Kurisutaru can smile like no other. It could be enough to melt ice, I'd bet.'_' He looked at it for just a little longer before facing forward again. '_Now_ that's_ a real smile._' He was puzzled at why she was smiling now, but not before as they stopped in front of Ichiraku Ramen.

"_'Closed'_?" they yelled in unison as the buildings nearby nearly shook like frightened puppies.

"They're probably out to lunch or something." Collecting a heavy sigh, Kurisutaru motioned him to follow her. "Does onigiri sound okay to you?"

Naruto huffed an angry pout before following. "Fine, I guess."

Walking to a nearby shop, she purchased a small basket of onigiri for the two to share. "Do you mind if we eat these on top of the Hokage Faces?" Looking in the direction of the stone faces, she admired the clear day after the recent rains.

He remembered her mentioning that it was one of her favorite places in the Village. "Sure, why not?"

"I'll race you," she smirked. "Let's go!" Kurisutaru covered the rice balls so they wouldn't be disturbed in the run as she bolted off, laughing.

The blonde blinked cluelessly before running off after her, also laughing. He was Naruto Uzumaki and he was determined to win. When he finally reached the top of the stone faces, Kurisutaru was already cleaning mud off of her shoes while taking a bite into her first of the onigiri.

"You're pretty fast," he said as he walked over and retrieved an onigiri for himself.

"You're pretty fast, yourself," she laughed. Truth was that she took a few shortcuts. The shortcuts were more scenic than the trail at times, in her opinion.

He sat eating his rice ball in silence as he looked out over the Village. The bustling people below seemed to make very little noise. He never noticed how peaceful it was up there. Naruto glanced over at Kurisutaru who was chewing her own onigiri with her eyes closed and head tilted back as the gentle wind rolled across her face and tousled her hair. Naruto heard her faintly humming what sounded like an old nursery tune that was unfamiliar to him. "Hey, Kurisutaru? Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead." She finished her onigiri and prepared for his question as she continued to enjoy the breeze.

"Why are you so scared of that Motobe creep? Does it have something to do with why you don't smile?" Naruto watched her face slowly change into thought.

Kurisutaru wiped the remaining grains of rice decorating her face from around her mouth. Looking up at the blue sky and passing clouds, she began to speak. "Imagine you have lost your sense of sight. You're blindfolded, in a dark place, or you're blind. It doesn't matter how: you just can't see anything but darkness. What does something like that make you feel like? What does it represent? Disorientation? Evil? Fear?" Rhetorical questions he could tell he wasn't meant to answer.

Watching her eyes darken with thought, she presented her own answers. "Loneliness… Isolation… Exposed and vulnerable to all the dangers you can't see… When I'm around Motobe, it's like I've been blindfolded in a dark and unfamiliar room and I feel all of those things." She thought of the dark and unfamiliar place Motobe and the other boys had taken her to that day. It certainly hadn't helped that it had rained then.

"If you're not really happy, then why do you smile?" He knew she had to be thinking about whatever caused her to stop smiling just by the sound of her voice.

"When you smile, whether it's real or not, people believe you're happy. When you don't smile, they know something is wrong. I don't want people's sympathy, but more importantly, I don't want them to worry about me." Kurisutaru took a bite out of another onigiri thoughtfully.

"I think it worries people _more_ when you only pretend to be happy." Naruto took a large mouthful of his onigiri as he saw her lower her head with realization. She reached into the basket for another onigiri but there weren't any left so she stood. "Kurisutaru? Why won't you give me a straight answer when I ask you about Motobe?"

Naruto watched her as she observed the sky to calculate the time of day before looking to her side, turning the opposite way of whatever she had seen. "I'm supposed to train with my teammates soon. I just have to see my father first. Are you staying here or do you want to come?"

He huffed as his question was ignored once again. "Yeah, I'm coming," he grumbled as he climbed to his feet and joined her.

"Be careful of the mud. The rain lately has made it less stable." Kurisutaru's footsteps were carefully planned yet casual as it seemed like she was walking over a bridge constructed of straw. On their walk down, she began asking Naruto questions about himself and his life. It was only fair for him to answer after asking her so many questions. When they neared the bottom, the earth around them shifted dangerously.

"What was that?" The blonde's head whipped around to see what was causing the mud beneath their feet to move.

"Motobe…" she muttered. Kurisutaru looked up the hill to see large amounts of earth cascading their way. Reaching out at Naruto, she pulled him to the ground and formed several hand signs as she knelt next to him, the mudslide crashing around them.

Naruto watched as small amounts of water were forced out of the mud around them and suspended in mid-air around the girls' hands as a near-perfect circle of black dirt formed around them. He heard the thunderous crashes of mud around them stopping as shinobi from the Village had to be using all sorts of jutsu to prevent it from entering the populated areas of Konoha. When he touched the earth around them, he found it was still damp and very thin due to the lack of clay found in the soil. Naruto was amazed at its strength as he thought about how much weight it had to be holding off of them. When the earth around them stopped making noise, he heard Kurisutaru breathing heavily in the darkness.

"Kurisutaru, are you all right?" When she didn't answer, he thought about what she said about Motobe and being enveloped in darkness. "Calm down, we'll come up with something." Naruto felt around in the dark until he found her hands. There were traces of warm water on the hands, frozen in a hand sign for the rooster. The water collected in the air from the mud was cold, so he concluded the water on her hands couldn't be from the mud: she was crying as well as sweating.

"I've only used this jutsu on soil _once_," her voice sounded normal but worried. "I don't know how long I can hold it."

"I can try to dig us out—"

"No, the jutsu will collapse. I'll think of something. Just… get some light in here, please, could you?"

"How? I don't have a flashlight or anything like that." Naruto mentally kicked himself. It was just like him to walk around unprepared.

"How's your chakra control?"

"It's okay, I guess."

"Then you're going to make a fire in your hand." Kurisutaru knew Kaki would probably be angry with her for sharing one of his jutsu, but she doubted the blonde would be able to remember it after using it only once. "Focus a small, steady amount of chakra in the fingers of one of your hands while doing the signs for horse, rabbit, and then tiger. It won't use up our oxygen because this fire will feed off your chakra."

Naruto nodded. "Right!" Doing as instructed, large spheres of fire formed on his fingertips. "Whoa!"

"Now lessen the flow carefully before you blow us up." She watched as the size of the fires shrunk slowly. "Now, slowly move the flow of your chakra from your fingers to the palm of your hand."

Consuming all of his attention, he followed the orders. Slowly but surely, the flames trailed down his fingers until they gathered in his palm to produce a brilliant, yet dim, light. "How's that, Kurisutaru?"

"It's really good, actually." Naruto saw her features relax slightly at seeing the light, relieving her from the darkness. He looked up when footsteps sounded over their heads.

"Comfy, kuroi akki?" Motobe sneered through the muddy barrier.

Kurisutaru's face paled at the sound of the voice. "I knew it," she whispered.

"This can be out little secret so no one will disturb your fun." A few tufts of dirt fell on the two as the boy stomped the ground with a chuckle.

"He's not going to tell anyone we're down here?" Naruto roared angrily.

"Calm down. We need to preserve the oxygen down here."

He looked over at her, her face now lit up from the fire in his hand. She had, indeed, been crying, but everything else about her indicated she was fine. "We'll get out of here, Kurisutaru. Don't worry."


	3. Chapter 3: Answers Revealed

**Chapter 3: Answers Revealed**

Kaki and Uindo stood, waiting for the kunoichi of their team to arrive at the training grounds. The redhead tapped his foot impatiently. "Where _is_ she?" He looked over at his calm, pink-haired friend. "Do you think something happened?"

Uindo shrugged. "You check the Hokage Faces and I check the Memorial Stone?"

"Fine with me," he replied as he darted off and his teammate disappeared in a blanket of wind. When he arrived, he noticed the evidence of a mudslide everywhere he looked. "Kurisutaru, are you here?" '_It's not like her to be late for things…_'

The air was becoming thicker and more difficult to breathe as Kurisutaru fought to maintain her jutsu. "How are you holding up?" Naruto asked before he looked up. "I think someone's looking for you."

Her ears twitched as she recognized the voice. "Kaki? Kaki, we're down here! Hey!"

Kaki stopped in his tracks as he heard his name being called. He crouched closer to the ground. "Kurisutaru?"

"We're trapped, Kaki!" she answered. "Go get Teinei or Daichi! Please, hurry!"

When they heard his footsteps fading away quickly, the blonde asked, "Why didn't you just ask _him_ to dig us out?"

"Because if it isn't done right, the mud could slide again and hurt more people. Not to mention it'd probably kill us." She began to wonder how long they had been down there.

Naruto watched as he saw Kurisutaru's hand sign began to slacken and the walls around them become less solid. "Hey, just hold on. We'll get out of here soon, don't worry."

Resting her back against the muddy wall, she closed her eyes and sighed. "We're almost out of air. My chakra… I can't hold this jutsu up much longer."

With the help of the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra, the blonde was having very little trouble with holding his jutsu. "Just wait: we'll get out of here and make the old man make us each a huge bowl of ramen!" He saw her smile to herself, though he couldn't tell if the water on her face was tears or sweat.

"You'll have to try _my_ ramen, sometime. It's not as good as Ichiraku's, but I'm working on it." Her voice sounded exhausted. The weight of the mud as well as the extensive chakra use was taking its toll. Soon, they heard two sets of feet running in their direction before stopping just above them.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" It was Daichi's voice.

"Naruto, stop your jutsu," Kurisutaru whispered quickly. She didn't answer her teammate until he did so. "For the most part, we're fine! There's not much air in here."

"Hold your jutsu up until I move the dirt, okay?" he said as he knelt down and let his fingers feel over the earth. Daichi was allowing pieces of his chakra to explore the ground to assess the situation.

"Just do it!" Kurisutaru's hands regained their focused positions while she braced herself, her jutsu, and her chakra for her teammate's interference.

Daichi focused his chakra and formed the necessary hand signs as Kaki stepped back. The mud around the buried teens changed into mud clones, standing up and simply walking away before returning to their original forms. "All r—" The sphere of damp dirt crumbled away. Naruto had just inched over to Kurisutaru, who was lying on her side and exhausted.

"Kurisutaru! Hey, are you okay?" The blonde shook her shoulder, attempting to receive a response.

Daichi ran over, rolling her on her back as he helped her sit up to breathe easier. "I'm just tired. Don't worry." She smiled up at the boys warmly.

"How long have you two been down there? What happened?" Daichi was giving her the once-over, examining for injuries.

"Since about noon, I think. Motobe made the mud slide." She breathed deeply to absorb the fresh air as she pulled herself from her teammate. "What time is it now?"

"It's nearly three-thirty. Are you sure it was Motobe?"

"Yeah, it was him!" Naruto answered angrily. "That little rat even tried to weaken Kurisutaru's hold on her jutsu by stomping above us!"

The grey-haired boy sighed and rubbed his eyes agitatedly. "Teinei's going to kill me…" he muttered.

"Let's get to the training grounds. Sorry you had to come bail us out, Daichi. Send Tobikiri my apologies."

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault that Motobe's a dumbshit," Daichi said as Kaki helped Kurisutaru to her feet. "You should rest for a little while. If I find out you train after I leave, I'm going to tie you to a tree for three days."

"All right, all right, I get it! I'm going to see my dad and then I'll go home." She smiled, laughing from defeat. "You can come, if you want, Naruto," she said as she started walking towards the Memorial Stone.

Her teammates watched her in disbelief. It wasn't like her to invite people with her to the K.I.A. Memorial Stone. Naruto jogged briefly to catch up to Kurisutaru before he fell into stride with her.

"Are you okay?" she asked him quietly.

"Of course, I am! All I did in there was take up air. You were amazing, Kurisutaru!"

She laughed. "I wouldn't have been able to do _anything_ if you weren't there to do that jutsu. All I could do was cry."

This time, he wasn't' going to let her avoid the subject. "I saw your face when you heard Motobe over us." He'd never seen someone so scared.

She didn't speak until they reached the Memorial Stone. Kneeling down in front of the memorial, Naruto stood behind her. "A few years ago, I left the house by myself to buy a surprise birthday present for Teinei…" He watched her back as her fingers lightly traced over the place where her father's name was written.

"I ran into Motobe and his friends and they beat on me, as usual. That time, they knocked me out. I woke up in a dark room. I don't know how many people were in there… But all of them…" Tears fell down her cheeks as her bottom lip trembled. "Th-They took turns when Motobe told them to…"

Naruto stepped in front of her and knelt down. "All of them what?"

Kurisutaru's body shook with silent sobs as her hands rested on the ground and closed into fists. "They made me…" More tears rolled down her face and fell to the ground.

He rested his hands on her shoulders and felt her flinch beneath them. If Naruto were to imagine the results of a mind put through torture, this would be worse than that. He no longer wanted to know, he _needed_ to know.

Breaking down into sobs, she finally revealed her torturous secret. "He raped me. All of them did." Kurisutaru felt like she was on the verge of vomiting as the memory replayed in her mind. Raising a hand to her head, she could do nothing but cry. "They wouldn't stop… There was nothing I could do."

The blonde stared at her in wide-eyed shock as their conversations replayed in his head. '_That's why she stopped smiling…_' He didn't know how to react to such news. Naruto surrendered at his attempts to find comforting words to say. Removing his hands from her shoulders, he wrapped them around the sobbing girl and pulled her close.

Her body tensed up instinctively for several moments before relaxing again and resting her head on his shoulder, still gripping it with one hand before slowly lowering it. He could almost feel the emotional weight on the girl as she cried. Kurisutaru hiccupped and sobbed in between her words. "Naruto," he finally heard audibly. "You can't tell anyone." She attempted to wipe the unrelenting tears from her eyes.

"Why not? You mean you haven't told _anyone_?"

She shook her head. "If Teinei finds out, he'll kill Motobe; I know it. I wouldn't put it passed Marugo or my teammates, either."

Naruto pulled back to look into her face. "After what he's done to you, why not? He _raped_ you and constantly tries to kill you!"

Kurisutaru cringed at the word. "I can't stand more death. I don't want my friends or family to become murderers because of me." Resting her hand on her forehead, she whispered, "I couldn't make them stop. There was nothing I could do."

Pulling the hand away, Naruto looked straight into her eyes. "Hold it right there! That wasn't your fault! Like you said: there was nothing you could do!"

She shook her head, obviously convinced she could have stopped them as well as in disbelief of the event, itself. "I've never told anyone before now… Not even my mother on her deathbed. So, why…" Kurisutaru looked up at the blonde. "Why could I tell _you_ so easily?"

Naruto didn't answer. How would he know? "You should go home and rest like Daichi told you to. He'll tie all of us up to trees if you don't," Uindo said as he entered the clearing.

Her eyes widened as she quickly wiped her tears and pulled away from the blonde. "You weren't listening to us, were you?"

Shaking his head, Uindo smiled at the kunoichi. "You know I don't like to listen in on personal conversations. Besides, the trees obstructed a lot of the wind flow. All I heard was you crying so I came to make sure you were all right."

Kurisutaru watched him sternly to determine whether he was telling the truth or simply telling her what she wanted to hear. He was skilled at gathering intelligence on missions so it wouldn't surprise her. "If you _did_, just like I told Naruto: not a word, Uindo."

"That's fine with me as long as you go home." The pink-haired Chuunin nodded in the direction of the Tetsu District.

Naruto watched her in disbelief. How could someone change emotional gears so quickly? '_Well, if she doesn't want people to know or to worry about her, I guess she doesn't have much of a choice._'

Kurisutaru stood and muttered a small prayer at the memorial before wiping her eyes again and turning to leave. The blonde didn't know to follow her or not. "Another year closer…" Uindo said as he watched her become out of earshot.

"What do you mean?"

"Kurisutaru has an arranged marriage scheduled when she turns eighteen. Her assigned groom is of high status in his clan and a fairly skilled shinobi. She would rather die than marry him, I think."

Naruto blinked as he looked up at the pink-haired boy. "Who is it?"

"Who do you think?" Uindo looked at the blonde from the edges of his eyes. "It's Motobe."

"_WHAT_?" he screamed. "He could've _killed_ us today and he—" Naruto stopped before he could let her secret slip. "And she has to _marry_ him?"

"Does it really surprise you that much?" He looked back at the girl's back weaving through the thin array of trees. "If you think how he treats her _now_ is bad, can you think of how it'll be _after_ the wedding?"

"He'll kill her for sure!"

Uindo nodded slowly. "The Tetsu are very wealthy and he wants it. The more afraid of him she is beforehand, the easier it will be for him in the end. The fact that she hates to fight only plays in his favor further." While his words sunk in, there was a long silence between them.

"Kurisutaru must really trust you. There are very few she has ever invited here with her without someone insisting on it." Uindo turned and walked away, standing at the base of a tree. "She's generally a good judge of character. Though, nonetheless… You should know that, should someone betray that trust, Teinei shows no mercy."

Forming several hand signs, the wind picked up around them and the older boy seemed to hide behind a screen of wind. When the breeze died down, he was gone. Naruto looked around to find Uindo was nowhere in sight.

"Man, he was creepy!" The blonde turned and ran to catch up to Kurisutaru but she was nowhere to be seen. He was about to call out for her when he heard someone singing. Following the voice, Naruto approached a stream with Kurisutaru on its bank. Her eyes were barely open, if not closed completely, and her back was turned.

There was a shining sphere in her hands which was hovering over her body at her control, slowly transitioning from one area to the next in her grasp. As it moved to new locations, previous cuts and bruises that were present vanished. Naruto's eyes traveled elsewhere as he stopped to note the fairy-like wings on her back. They glistened in the sunlight as he observed they were made of chakra and thin ice. When Kurisutaru came to a stubborn injury, the wings twitched delicately and glowed. She was singing the same nursery-sounding tune as the one she hummed earlier that day on the Hokage Faces.

"You see, I want to sing this song, not for anyone, but just for you," she sang quietly. The blonde's eyes wandered around their surroundings. Other than themselves, he saw no one else in the area.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked as he walked out of his hiding place.

Kurisutaru jumped as she let out a startled yelp. "Who's there?" Turning slightly to see, she relaxed, turning away again to hide her embarrassed blush. "You scared me, Naruto. I didn't know you were there." Chuckling to herself, she added, "Some ninja _I_ am."

"The blonde rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that." He walked around and closer to have a better look at her jutsu. "So, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to heal my injuries before Teinei can see."

"Is he really _that_ obsessive?"

"He's not _obsessive_… Teinei's just concerned. Whether it's helping me with my training or protecting me, himself, he doesn't want me to get hurt. He says he owes my mother, my brother, and I." The icy wings melted away as Kurisutaru lowered the orb into the stream as it joined the flow of the rest of the water.

"Why would he owe you?" Naruto sat on the bank of the stream as the girl washed dirt from the mudslide from her arms, legs, and face.

"For taking him in when his parents died. We've told him a million times that it was no trouble. Honestly, I think he uses it as an excuse."

"Why would he want an excuse to protect you?"

She shrugged. "Only he knows; I guess… it's what keeps him going. It's what he tells his clan's leaders and no one questions it. Let me put it this way," she said, climbing out of the water. "Teinei goes away on dangerous missions all the time. If you faced strong enemies constantly, would you want others to know that you're protecting someone for personal reasons? Of course not, because that person immediately becomes a target."

Naruto nodded his head slowly. "I think I know what you mean."

Lying down in the grass, Kurisutaru looked up into the trees as beams of light flickered through the swaying leaves. "Now I have to return the favor to _him_ by keeping _my_ promise."

"What promise?"

She fell silent as she stood. "Uh… Never mind. Forget I said anything." A breeze blew through, the blonde first thinking she was speaking to him. "Uindo, where's Teinei and Daichi?"

There was silence and Naruto was about to speak until another wind waded through the air. "I think Teinei is still in the Buke District. I can't tell where Daichi is."

Kurisutaru sighed, muttering, "Liar." Looking around, her eyes stopped on a tree on the opposite side of the stream. "I know you're there, Daichi. Come on out." Folding her arms, she watched her teammate step out from behind the tree. "Were you spying on my again?"

Naruto blinked in confusion. '_How could she see him? What's he even doing here, for that matter?_'

"Will you stop calling it that? It makes me feel like a stalker. Besides, you know I don't cut training time to listen to girls babble." Daichi walked across the water with his hands in his pockets.

Looking past him to watch the tree, she chuckled as she saw a spot of red in the leaves. "You forgot: your hair, Kaki. I can see you."

"Dammit! Not again!" Kaki whined angrily. Climbing out of the tree, he pouted. "How do you _always_ see me?"

"It's not that hard," Daichi sighed.

"Who asked you?" Kaki snorted.

"You did."

The redhead's face flustered angrily. "Just shut up, Daichi!"

"Calm down, Kaki." Kurisutaru smiled warmly at her teammate. "It's just something you need to work on, that's all."

Daichi mentally shook his head to pull himself back to the subject he was there for. "You should be at home, resting. You said you would after you visited Hogosha's grave." He raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"I _will_. I never said I was going home _right_ after the stone, did I?"

"She got you there, Daichi," Kaki smirked.

The Chuunin sighed in defeat. "Well, you're going home _now_. I'm taking you, myself." When he saw her mouth open for words of protest, he said, "No 'buts'; let's go."

Kurisutaru sighed. "I'll see you later, Naruto." The three teammates walked past the blonde Genin.

'_What's the deal with her teammates following her all of the time? They're _everywhere,' Naruto thought. As he turned to leave for home, he saw the ravenette pause.

"Are you feeling all right?" Kaki asked her.

"I'm fine. Thanks, but I just need to rest and take a break."

Kaki seemed to shrug off the response casually but Daichi knew otherwise by how the phrase was worded. As he turned to Kurisutaru, she vanished. Resting his face in the palm of his hand, he sighed. "Not again…!"

"Hey, what happened?" Naruto called to the two.

"She ran off again…!" Daichi grumbled.

The blonde ran up to them. "Why would she do that?"

"She's mad that we followed her," Kaki explained as Daichi disappeared to chase after her.

"As long as she goes home, why should you follow her?"

"There's a list of reasons. For one, she probably not _actually_ going home, and just because of Motobe." Kaki sighed as he looked up at where the kunoichi had previously been. "I'd better go look for her."

"Should I help?" Naruto wondered.

"That's all right. You can, if you want, I guess." The redhead spoke loudly as he said, "Hey, Uindo! Kurisutaru ran off again!"

"You let her ditch you two?" Uindo's voice rang in return.

"Oh, shut up. She's ditched _you_ before, _too_! Just let us know if you find her."

Naruto concluded to let them handle it. Walking away to find Jiraiya to find out what he should do next for training, he decided to stop at Ichiraku's later.

Kurisutaru sat at the top of the large post signifying the entrance to the Tetsu District, looking at the glinting silver locket around her neck thoughtfully. Daichi stood several meters away from its base, unnoticed.

"I found her," he said quietly. Moments later, he stepped into view of the kunoichi. "About time I found you! Let us take you home."

Her eyes traveled lazily down to see Kaki and Daichi watching her from the ground. When Kurisutaru looked up again, she saw Uindo balancing effortlessly on the small, unoccupied piece of the post. His arms were folded patiently as he offered his hand to the girl.

Looking at it a moment, she looked away. "I don't want help, thanks."

"That could be, but more importantly, do you _need_ it?" His hand didn't waver as she slowly turned to him with a sigh.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "All right." Kurisutaru raised her hand to Uindo's as he helped her to her feet with him on the post. Gripping a hand to his shoulder, the shinobi formed several hand signs as the wind around them swiftly picked up. When her feet met the ground, she released his shoulder and muttered, "Thanks."

He simply nodded in return and followed as Daichi wordlessly began walking in the direction of Kurisutaru's home. Kaki ran up to walk with the kunoichi. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said quietly, assuring him with a smile. He paused, taken aback at the smile. His hesitation caused his teammates to turn to investigate as they, too, saw the smile.

All three members of the team halted to confirm what they saw. "Kurisutaru, you're…"

The kunoichi snickered to herself as she stepped across the foothold of her house, the three following her inside.

"Are you going to be all right here?" Kaki asked.

"_She _will… but Daichi won't," Uindo said. "Teinei's coming and he's not far."

Daichi swore loudly to himself, running up the stairs to the ravenette's bedroom to escape through the window. "See you later, Nut!" Kaki waved as he followed his teammate up the stairway.

"Take care, Kurisutaru," Uindo nodded as he, too, followed suit up the stairs.

"Good luck, guys!" Meanwhile, she walked quickly to the door to distract Teinei from chasing off her friends or picking a fight with his older cousin.


	4. Chapter 4: Smiles

**Chapter 4: Smiles**

Teinei stood just outside the doorway, taking an observation of his friend from top to bottom. One eyebrow raised as something caught his attention. "You're home early," he stated suspiciously.

"There was a change of plans; something came up," Kurisutaru answered with a warm smile as he took a step closer.

"What happened?" he asked as a hand raised to a centimeter above her eyebrow. "There's mud on your face." Teinei lowered his hand to observe the patch of mud he'd retrieved.

She stood in silence, watching his eyes travel to the roof, having no believable explanation. Not that he wouldn't have seen through it, anyway. There was a loud thump from the roof as a cloud of smoke appeared, and Teinei was gone.

"A clone," she cursed aloud as she darted to the roof.

Daichi was on his knees, attempting to stand as blood appeared at the edge of his mouth. A dark bruise was quickly forming throughout the landing site on his cheek.

Kaki knelt at Daichi's side in an effort to assist him, continuously refused and pushed away.

Uindo stood between his two teammates and Teinei, arms folded. Anger flared in Teinei's eyes, coursing right through Uindo and into Daichi.

"Lazy traitor!" Daichi shouted.

"Backstabbing sellout!" Teinei growled back.

"At least _I_ didn't sell out my own clan!"

"I beg to differ," Teinei snorted.

"There's nothing I can do to change that. If you have a problem with it, take it to someone who can!"

"You mean someone like the Hokage?" he threatened.

"If you want to disgrace us _further_," he started.

Teinei pushed past Uindo for another blow at Daichi when his hands were caught in a fierce grip and his feet were blocked with another pair.

"Kurisutaru, move out of the way," he growled quietly. It was more of a gentle plead than an order.

"No." She set her jaw stubbornly. "I _won't_ let you two fight each other."

The force behind her stance surprised him. She wasn't about to move, and she wasn't hiding it. Not that he would use his full strength on her, of course.

Adrenaline was tearing insistently through his body as Teinei asked more softly but with the same underlying anger, "Please, Kurisutaru. Move."

"Stop, Teinei. Please, calm down. I'm all right," she insisted.

Daichi stood, without looking at the two in the standoff. "I'm sorry," he said, not directed particularly to either of them. "Let's go," he told his teammates as he vanished.

Kaki followed orders, bounding away over the rooftops while Uindo lingered behind. "Kurisutaru?" he asked quietly.

She heard the concern in his voice and nodded her head. "I'll see you later."

As Uindo turned to leave, he saw Kurisutaru's grip on Teinei loosen. Even after he was out of sight, she didn't release him.

"Why do you always do this, Teinei? It's not Daichi's fault. If it bothers you _that_ much—"

"Don't say it," he warned stiffly.

Her eyes narrowed. "Then let it go."

Teinei exhaled in frustration as she released his hands and dropped her stance. He quickly changed the subject. "Are you hungry?"

Kurisutaru, simply relieved he surrendered the desire to fight for the moment, smiled. "Let me put my stuff away and we can go to Ichiraku."

Jumping off the roof, the two climbed into the window of Kurisutaru's bedroom. She pulled several notebooks from her bag and set them on her desk before removing the entire bag, leaving it next to her bed.

"I didn't find anything new today. I took some notes, but I'm not sure if they'll help. Sorry…" Kurisutaru straightened several books, turning around to find Teinei standing behind her. Drawing a sharp breath at the surprise, she shook her head and smiled. "I wish you would stop doing that."

"Sorry," he apologized. Teinei lifted his hand slowly to her face and smiled as her eyes watched his hand. It rubbed the side of her face gently. "You should wash your face before we leave," he chuckled warmly. His eyes narrowed when she winced. "A little sore?"

"Just a little," she admitted.

Teinei removed his hand and patted his hands together lightly to remove the dried mud he'd gathered. "Go wash up. I'll meet you downstairs."

Kurisutaru nodded and left for the bathroom. Quickly washing her face, she walked down the stairs and stepped out the door with Teinei. The two stopped immediately as Uncle passed, halting in front of their bowed heads.

"Where are you going?" he asked gruffly.

"We're walking to Ichiraku Ramen for dinner, Uncle," Kurisutaru answered without raising her head. "Would you like to join us?" To be truthful, that was the last thing she wanted. It was how she had been raised; it was how she had been taught to treat him.

Uncle watched them in silence for a moment, not answering her offer. "Your clothes are filthy. If you're leaving the District, change into something presentable." Without another word, he walked swiftly away.

"Yes, Uncle," she answered, anyway. Turning inside, she emerged moments later in clean, dirt-free clothes. "Let's go," she said quietly.

Their walk was brisk, not slowing until they neared the ramen shop. "Your uncle is getting on my nerves," Teinei muttered irritably.

"He won't live forever; no one ever does. I'm sure he has his reasons," she replied patiently.

He didn't answer as they approached the ramen shop. Gesturing to a stool, he waited until Kurisutaru sat down before taking his own seat.

"So," Teinei's gaze shifted to her direction, "what did he do this time? I can tell your chakra is pretty low."

"He caused a mudslide," she whispered. "Naruto and I were caught in it."

He didn't respond in an attempt to control his anger. "I see," he answered tightly.

Naruto sat down at a nearby stool and ordered his food cheerfully. "Hey, Kurisutaru!"

"Hey, Naruto," she replied politely. "Sorry about earlier."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

Both boys watched her turn around quickly to see a man behind her. He wore a gray traveling cloak, but it couldn't hide how large he was. Lowering his hood, silver hair reflected in the night lights.

"You looked surprised to see me, Kurisutaru," he smiled.

"Marugo!" she cheered, jumping from her seat and into her brother's arms. He towered almost a head taller than her, just slightly taller than Teinei. "I didn't think you'd be home so soon; I got your letter just this morning!"

"I figured I would surprise you." Lowering her to the ground from their embrace, he smiled wider. "It should hopefully give me a few minutes of peace, at least."

"I wouldn't count on it," Teinei smirked.

Marugo chuckled to himself. "So much for that plan, then." He sat in the seat next to Kurisutaru's as she returned to her food. "How have you two been?"

"I just got back from my mission last night," Teinei answered.

"Was it a success?"

"Which part?" Teinei forced a smile as he held up his arm, then he answered the question Marugo had been truly referring to. "It went well. I managed to keep anyone from getting caught in the crossfire, but it was intense. I had to wait a night before I could head back."

"That's good to hear." Marugo nodded. "Anything new since I last checked in?"

Kurisutaru nodded. "Yes, actually. Meet my new friend Naruto Uzumaki, brother." She motioned a hand to Marugo's other side to the blonde sitting a few seats down, chewing his ramen.

"Naruto, this is my older brother Marugo Tetsu," she introduced.

Teinei glared from the corners of his eyes at the blonde while Marugo smiled. "So, Naruto, what do you think of my little brainiac?" Marugo asked teasingly.

"Marugo…" she murmured, cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

Naruto grinned. "She's pretty smart and a quick-thinker, for a bookworm. Her battle skills must be out-of-sight," he complimented.

"It's not that special, Naruto… Though, I _do_ think I could beat you in a ramen-eating contest," she smirked.

"Are you sure you don't mean ramen-_making_?" Marugo said casually, trying to avoid making a scene of her smile.

Teinei watched from the corners of his yes. He wouldn't allow his surprise to show, but he undoubtedly felt it.

"Now _there's_ a show-stopper," the chef announced. "_That's_ a smile, if I ever saw one." He walked around the counter, setting a hand on her head like she was a small child. "It's good to have you back, Kurisutaru."

She smiled, closing her eyes to laugh as she turned to her ramen. "Thanks, old man."

Removing his hand from her head, he returned to his place behind the counter, setting a large bowl of ramen in front of Kurisutaru. "I'll tell you what: if you promise to keep that smile of yours, this ramen is yours. No charge."

Blinking several times at the tasty bowl, she smiled up at him. "Thanks! Will-do, old man!" Breathing in the mouth-watering scent of ramen, she dug in.


	5. Chapter 5: Kanojo

**Chapter 5: Kanojo**

"So, how long are you staying in Konoha?" Kurisutaru asked as the four shinobi walked down the lit streets.

"I'm not sure yet. I'll have to talk to Uncle and Lady Tsunade, but I was actually thinking about moving back here. Since the bridge was built in the Mist Village, my boss has been giving more jobs to drifters than his usuals."

"Will he let you go that easily?" Teinei asked quietly.

"Probably not, but he's not that dangerous to me," Marugo answered just as quietly.

Silence surrounded them until Teinei smirked. "Hey, Marugo?"

"Yes?"

"She'll be here in about twelve seconds," he said, suppressing his amusement.

"Oh, boy…" Marugo muttered as he heard approaching footsteps.

"Marugo!" a petite girl called as she approached at a run.

"Hi, Kanojo," he replied.

She jumped up so her arms could wrap around his neck. "I heard you were back so I had to see if it was true. I missed you so much!" Kanojo snuggled against him like a friendly cat to its master.

Marugo wrapped his arms around her so she wouldn't be dangling around his neck like an over-sized necklace. Her lilac-purple hair was pulled into a low ponytail and clipped by a matching large barrette to keep it off her neck and out of the way. She wore a long-sleeved, white shirt with solid sea foam green sleeves and black shorts. Her long, black socks reached past her knees and each had two stripes on it towards the top in the same shade of purple as her hair and shoes.

"I missed you, too. What have you been up to?"

Kanojo continued dangling from his neck casually. "Just hanging around. I think I might have gotten taller while you were away. Though, it could just be my shoes," she chirped, dangling her black and white and purple flats to the side for display.

"I like the shoes," he shrugged.

"I knew you would," Kanojo said as she poked his forehead.

Teinei stepped a few paces away to avoid bursting into a laughing fit as the couple touched noses.

"Will you two just get a room?" Naruto grumbled in complaint.

"That's not a bad idea," Kanojo giggled.

"Your room or mine?" Marugo teased.

"Okay, enough of that," Kurisutaru said, stifling her own laughter.

"How come you didn't tell me you were back today?" Kanojo asked innocently, sincere hurt hiding in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kanojo. I wanted to surprise you," Marugo replied just as sincerely. Prying her from around his neck, he gently placed her on the ground and took her hand.

"Do you want to train tomorrow?" Kanojo smiled mischievously with a wink. "I might even let you win."

Naruto looked curiously between them and asked Kurisutaru, "What does she mean 'let' him win? Is she stronger than Marugo?"

"Oh, yeah. Kanojo is a former member of the Anbu Black Ops. She says she'd rather be on a four-man squad, though, so she left the Anbu ranks. I think it was so she could spend more time with Marugo," Kurisutaru answered quietly.

Teinei returned to the conversation once the threat of laughter subsided. He spoke quietly to the two older ninjas. "Motobe is becoming bolder in his actions."

Marugo thought for a moment, then looked up and smiled cheerfully at his sister. "Kurisutaru, we have some catching up to do. You and Naruto should be all right for the walk home, right?"

She nodded whereas Teinei was furious. "Marugo, are you _kidding_? That's—" he rambled in a harsh whisper before Marugo's intense gaze silenced him.

"That's Kurisutaru's friend. They're walking home while the three of us catch up," he said sternly.

Teinei steamed in silence as he watched Kurisutaru and Naruto walk away down the street. Marugo broke the silence by asking, "So, what did he do this time?"

Kanojo turned instantly serious. "Someone else was caught in the crossfire this time, didn't they?"

Teinei nodded. "Motobe trapped her and Naruto in a mudslide earlier today."

"Kanojo seems a little…" Naruto trailed off in a search for words that wouldn't seem insulting.

"She's a little high-strung at times," Kurisutaru nodded.

"Well, yeah!" he agreed. "I wouldn't have pictured someone like her with your brother."

She laughed with a shrug. "They've been friends for a long time so it wasn't an incredible surprise to us when they got together."

A small, white fox ran up to Kurisutaru, jumping up to her shoulder before sliding down to rest in her arms. Affectionate noises rose from the creature's throat.

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

"This is Shiroi," Kurisutaru giggled as she stroked the fox's head. Speaking to Shiroi, she asked, "Where's Mizu?"

"I'm right here," a man replied as he approached. The man was the same height as Teinei and his hair was a soft blue with a green tinge. His clothes were white and green, flowing gracefully, lit brilliantly in the night's lights. "How are you?"

"I'm well. And you?" Kurisutaru passed Shiroi to Mizu carefully.

"I can't complain," he shrugged. "Aoiro has been looking for you, I think. He seems to think you were in Lady Hokage's private library this morning."

"Oh, I see. Thanks, Mizu. We have to be going," Kurisutaru said politely, taking Naruto by the hand and pulling him away.

Naruto looked up at her curiously. "You were reading Tsunade's private documents?"

"More or less," she mumbled.

"What for?"

"The same reason you want to find Sasuke: to save my friends," she said quietly.

He didn't hear the plural use of "friends" so it didn't occur to him that there was more than one person. "You could get in a lot of trouble for reading those documents, Kurisutaru!"

"I know. As long as I find the information I need, I don't care," she said. "I'm a little surprised Mizu told me Aoiro was looking for me…"

"Who are they?"

"Marugo's other teammates."

"Do they k now why you were in the library?"

Kurisutaru shrugged. "Probably."

"Then why would they turn you in for it?"

"I said they probably _know_; I never said they cared." She looked up at the entrance to the Tetsu District and turned to smile at Naruto. "Thanks for walking me home."

He folded his arms behind his head. "Yeah, no problem!"

"I'll see you later," she said, turning back and walking to her house.

"Bye, Kurisutaru!" he replied, turning around and walking home. Walking through the town, he heard Teinei, Marugo, and Kanojo holding conversation nearby and decided to listen when he heard Kurisutaru's name.

"Her birthday is coming soon. Do you think Motobe will try anything?" Kanojo asked.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Marugo answered.

"And what about Kurisutaru?" The silence Teinei left was eerie.

"You don't really think she'd commit suicide to avoid marrying him, do you?" Kanojo whispered.

"She would never do something like that," Marugo insisted angrily. Naruto could hear the exchanged glances debating their own points, though he couldn't see from his hiding place. Marugo inquired quietly, "…Would she?"

"I don't know," Teinei said calmly. "She probably feels cornered, which can make people unpredictable. If I know Kurisutaru, she's going to try something and try to involve as few other people as possible."

"You're right about that: she probably won't ask for help. She'll want to take care of it, herself." Kanojo thought a moment. "Should we just let her do whatever she's planning to?"

"No. She's going to need help, especially if she's planning to take him on," Marugo reasoned.

"But what if she's not?" Kanojo pointed out. There was silence among the three before she asked, "So, what do we do? I think we should just keep a close eye on her."

"She's outrun us before on numerous occasions. It's possible she would tell me if I just asked her," Marugo suggested.

"I doubt that. Kurisutaru could simply lie to us while figuring out we suspect her of being up to something. No. I think we should take her away from the Land of Fire for a little while so she'll be out of Motobe's reach. Not only that, but she'll have the chance to think clearly for a course of action," Teinei proposed with a commanding edge.

"Isn't that a little drastic? I agree; it would probably work, but there aren't many places we can take her without mission orders where she won't be in danger of attack," Marugo said, thinking.

"What about the Land of Snow?" Kanojo asked, "You have relatives there, right? Take her there!"

"I almost forgot about them… We'll sleep on it. That's a good idea, though, Kanojo," Marugo agreed.

Naruto heard the sound of a chaste kiss before Kanojo answered, "Thanks; just let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Marugo promised.

Naruto turned to leave, nearly smacking into Teinei. He was glaring at the blonde sternly. "We were talking about Kurisutaru's birthday plans. You stopped, said 'hello,' and kept walking," Teinei ordered.

"Fine," Naruto replied. He didn't see why it mattered to keep the conversation secret, but if it would help Kurisutaru, so be it.


	6. Chapter 6: Iroppoi

**Chapter 6: Iroppoi**

Marugo opened Kurisutaru's bedroom door, expecting to find her asleep. She was sitting at her desk, pouring over several textbooks and notebooks spread around her. "Did you just get home?" she asked distractedly.

"I thought you'd be asleep."

Looking up at her clock, she stood from her desk. "I guess I should be," she yawned. "Is Teinei on the roof already?" she asked with a glance at the window.

"I think so. You need to sleep, in any case," he ordered.

Saluting sarcastically, she said, "Yes, sir!"

He rolled his eyes, smiling. "Good night, Kurisutaru."

"Good night, Marugo," she giggled. Calling to the roof, she called, "'Night, Teinei!"

"Good night," he called back.

Kurisutaru climbed into bed and turned off the lights, drifting to sleep.

Teinei lay on the roof, thinking, when he felt another person nearby. "Who are you?" The person didn't answer. As the night breeze rolled by, Teinei opened his eyes to look at the guest, but he found he was alone. He saw the sky begin to change color with the approaching sunrise so he crept to his bedroom window and crawled on top of the bed, removing his jacket and throwing it to the side.

A knock sounded on his door minutes later. "Teinei, are you there?"

"Come in, Kurisutaru," he answered.

The door opened, the light burning his eyes. "Breakfast will be ready soon. Marugo is in the shower right now so you'll have to wait until he's finished."

He nodded sleepily. "All right."

Kurisutaru stepped over to the bed and sat down, taking one of Teinei's arms from his sides. Lying on his stomach, he gazed up at her face as she examined the metal shackle on his arm. Her expression was intent as she focused, concentrating and in thought.

"They've gotten bigger…" she muttered. '_They used to be only around his wrists and ankles... Now, they're at the halfway points to his knees and elbows._'

Teinei continued to watch as she gently turned his arm over in her hands to study the device. "Do you think my choker is losing its properties?"

"You can still use jutsu and you're alive, so I think it'd be fair to rule that out."

"Just a suggestion," he said quietly.

She smiled. "It was a good one; I thought of that, too." Setting his arm down, she stood. "I'll see you downstairs."

Teinei watched her leave, dragging himself from bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he closed his eyes and focused on the choker around his neck. Drawing a deep breath, he released a small, extra portion of the stored energy in his choker to his body before dimming the flow to its usual flow. He stood, slipping his jacket on without zipping its front, and stepped out the door to shower. The aroma of the awaiting meal hugged his sense of smell, pulling a smile from his lips.

Marugo walked down the stairs, hearing a knock on the door as he was halfway to the kitchen. "I'll get it, Kurisutaru," he told her as she started out of the kitchen to answer it. Opening it, Uncle stood in front of him. "Good morning, Uncle. What brings you here?"

He seemed happy to see his great-nephew. "Good morning, my boy. Come on a walk with me, would you?"

He nodded. "Yes, sir," Marugo said, stepping out the door.

They walked through the Tetsu District in silence for several minutes, except for the occasional greeting they received. "You're so much like your father, Marugo. Hogosha was a good man who always put his family and his clan first," Uncle stated.

"Thank you. I'm honored to hear you think so," Marugo answered politely.

Nodding wisely, he continued, "Now, there is a matter of residency at your home. I let it go for years, but I will not turn a blind eye any longer."

"What would that be, Uncle?"

"Your sister Kurisutaru has grown into a young lady now and, I understand, Teinei is still living inside your home. I also know he is no longer a young boy, but a young man." He chose his words carefully in an attempt to not offend his favorite younger-generation relative.

Marugo knew where the conversation was heading, but he asked anyway, "What are you implying?"

"I believe it is inappropriate for those two to be living alone together. At their age, assumptions can be easily made and it's foolish to ignore the ways to avoid them. I think it's time for Teinei to move out of your home, Marugo."

"Their relationship is nothing like that, Uncle. They sleep in separate bedrooms—"

"That doesn't matter in the eyes of onlookers," he said sternly.

Marugo stopped walking to face the man. "I only have the greatest respect for you, Uncle, as you know. However, my mother stated in her will as well as several times to us, verbally, over the years that Teinei would always be welcome in our home. If such rumors spread, I will take full responsibility for it, but I refuse to make Teinei move out unless he chooses to do so on his own. If you'll excuse me, I have other obligations, Uncle. Have a good day," he said, turning on his heels for home.

Teinei was placing clean dishes in their proper places as Kurisutaru left to answer the door. She opened it to find a frail old woman standing in front of her.

"Hello, dear. I suppose you're Kurisutaru Tetsu?" the woman said delicately.

"Yes, I am," she replied.

"Do you mind if I come in? My old bones are a little tired from walking," the woman smiled sweetly.

"Of course, come right in, ma'am." Kurisutaru moved out of the woman's way to allow her entry.

"Oh, my, my," she said, looking around. "What a lovely home you have, dear."

Teinei exited the kitchen to see who their visitor was, stopping when he caught sight of the woman. She smiled at him, but didn't speak.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

The smile vanished. "Don't worry. I'm not Motobe and I'm not here to kill or steal from any of you." She turned to Kurisutaru. "Can we speak someplace more private?"

"How private?"

"The backyard would suffice," she granted.

Nodding, Kurisutaru motioned for the back door. "Teinei, calm down. I know this isn't an old woman. I can handle this," she told him before exiting the house.

The old woman stood in the grass, arm held out as a bird gently perched on her finger. "A lot has changed since I last saw you," she said.

"Isn't it dangerous for you to be here?" Kurisutaru asked as she stood next to the woman.

"It's dangerous for me to be anywhere."

"You know what I mean. This area is secure. No one can see us."

"What about Teinei?"

"I'll handle him if he tries anything."

She pondered that a moment. "All right." There was a small sound accompanied by a cloud of smoke as the transformation jutsu ended. A young man in a long, black cloak stood where the woman had been, raven hair blowing in the breeze. His skin was pale white and the hollows under his eyes were dark, his irises crimson red, squinting against the sun. It appeared he hadn't been in the sun for a long period of time.

"You look horrible," Kurisutaru said apologetically.

"It's been a long time," he shrugged. "I'm sorry about your mother."

"Thanks," she told him. "How have things been with Orochimaru?"

"I haven't found out anything. Though it appears Lady Tsunade is your new Hokage."

"Ironic, isn't it?"

He nodded glumly. "I doubt she'd help me now. Not unless I betray Lord Orochimaru for her to do so." Looking over at her, he asked, "So, you're friends with one of Sasuke's teammates now?"

She nodded. "I don't suppose you'd know where Sasuke is, would you?"

"I'm afraid not, at the moment. On occasion, though, yes. I think Lord Orochimaru wants to use my abilities to help train him."

"Is there any chance you could persuade him to return to Konoha? Sasuke, I mean."

"I haven't met him so I can't be sure, but I doubt it."

There was a long silence before Kurisutaru could ask, "Iroppoi?" He didn't answer, watching the bird on his finger. "Has it gotten any worse? Is that one of the reasons your eyes are so dark?"

"It's started, yes. It's still in its early stages so I can manage fairly easy. As for Yokoshima, I think something may be wrong." His face twisted in thought. "I'm beginning to wonder if seeing blood will continue to be the only way he gets excited." Before she could speak, he turned to her and asked, "So, what happened to you?"

"Why ask? I'm sure you already know."

"Because it'd be rude not to ask. If you've only told one person, who am I to know if you don't want to tell me?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"I understand."

Kurisutaru didn't turn to face the house to check. "Is he listening?"

"No, he's just watching."

She thought a moment before speaking, stroking the bird perching on Iroppoi's finger. "It's been almost three years. I still can't admit to myself that it happened. I know I couldn't stop them. There were too many and I wasn't strong enough. It would have been incredibly foolish of me to try. It didn't take me long to face that. But, still…"

"Time heals all wounds, but most don't know that time is only a contributing factor. Sometimes those closest to you, or the most compassionate, have to help you. And, as much as it hurts, sometimes those wounds have to be reopened by talking about it so they can heal properly. You can shut it up tight for as long as you can, but it won't make it easier." He held the bird out to her, and it jumped to her hand and up her arm happily.

"What if it still can't heal after it's been reopened? What then? There would only be more suffering."

"Then your friends will have to help you stitch it up," he said, looking up at her to smile.

Kurisutaru smiled back at him, averting her eyes away to the bird as she felt tears well over her eyes. "Thanks," she said, voice cracking, "I hope so."

Iroppoi closed his eyes and chuckled at something he'd seen with his Kasukagan. "It will, don't worry." Opening his eyes to look at her face, he sighed. "You look like your mother. Do you know that?"

"And like Ai?" she chuckled.

He made a quiet, content hum, smiling to himself. "Yes. And like Ai." Reaching up to wipe her tears, he heard and angry growl nearby, calmly backing a step away.

Teinei stood in between Kurisutaru and Iroppoi, kunai drawn. "Don't touch her!"

"I don't want to fight you," Iroppoi stated.

His eyes flickered to the Otogakure symbol that was masked by his black cloak. "I'm not going to let some shinobi from the _Sound_ Village waltz right in here and—"

"Teinei, quiet!" Kurisutaru demanded in a harsh whisper. Any loud, hostile conversation was bound to be noticed. "What if someone heard you?"

"It's all right, Kurisutaru. I should leave, anyway. It would only cause you trouble if Lord Orochimaru discovered I was here," Iroppoi told her.

"You work for _Orochimaru_?" Teinei flared.

Iroppoi watched him a moment. "If I had come here to kill you, don't you think I would have done it by now?"

"Teinei, _don't_! Listen to me—"

"Teinei, put the kunai _down_," Marugo ordered firmly. To enforce the order, he approached from the back door to stand between them. He smiled at the Sound ninja. "I almost didn't recognize you, Iroppoi. It's been a while."

"It _has_," Iroppoi agreed. "I think someone should talk to Teinei before he accidentally kills himself of a heart attack."


	7. Chapter 7: Hiding in Plain Sight

**Chapter 7: Hiding in Plain Sight**

"Would you mind if we take this inside? I'm afraid your friend might have attracted some attention," Iroppoi suggested, looked around, seeing things they could not.

"Yes, of course," Marugo granted. "I'll talk to Teinei—"

"That wouldn't be best," Iroppoi interrupted calmly. "It would probably be better if Kurisutaru talked to him."

Marugo glanced amongst the three before nodding. "Good idea. Kurisutaru, explain things to Teinei and then join us in the living room."

Kurisutaru nodded, waiting for the two to disappear inside before leading Teinei to her room to explain. He watched her anxiously, arms folded as he stood in front of her. She hung her head, trying to gather her nerve to explain to her snarky friend as she motioned for him to sit.

Filling her lungs, Kurisutaru looked him in the eyes. "I know you're mad, but I want you to listen to me. Iroppoi has been my friend for years—"

"_Years_?"

"Yes, years. He first came here to find Lady Tsunade for help, but she wasn't here. When he left, he was tricked by Orochimaru into working for him." She watched his still-angry features consider her explanation as he waited for more. Sighing, she said, "Look, I don't expect you to be friends with him or anything like that, but I'm asking you to not fight with him. I'm also telling you that we have to make sure he doesn't see blood."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"It would not end well… All I can tell you is that he has some form of Multiple Personality Disorder and it occurs when he sees blood."

"You want me to trust a Sound Ninja that works for the assassin of our Hokage that has a split personality?" he asked angrily.

Kurisutaru watched him for several moments, knowing an immediate answer would frustrate him further. He looked away, closing his eyes to control his anger. "Do you trust me?" she asked softly.

"Do you even have to ask? Of course, I do. I trust you with my life," he answered quietly. He looked at her from the corners of his eyes, not turning his head to look at her.

Kurisutaru raised a hand to his chin, gently guiding his face to look in her eyes, telling him, "Then, that's all you have to do. You don't have to trust him; just trust _me_." She searched his indecisive face, torn between his hate and distrust of Sound Ninjas and his undying trust and loyalty to Kurisutaru and Marugo.

Teinei took her hand, removing it from his face, closing his eyes to avoid the powers of persuasion she could unintentionally hold on him with her eyes. "All right, fine. It's not like I have much of a choice in this, anyway."

"Thank you," she said, relieved, "Now, let's go downstairs."

Kurisutaru turned to leave the room, Teinei just a few paces behind as they joined the other two in the living room. Iroppoi's stance was rigid, defensive, but calm as he watched Teinei. His burning hatred couldn't hide from the Sound Ninja, especially not at its strength.

Iroppoi stood from the couch and bowed respectfully to Teinei and Kurisutaru. "Thank you for allowing me in here without raising alarm."

Teinei fought the desire to scoff angrily and said tightly, "Thank them, not me."

Smiling to himself, Iroppoi said, "Of course; my apologies."

"What brings you here to Konoha?" Kurisutaru asked.

Iroppoi's eyes glanced around the room. When they fell on a spot near the front door, he carefully pulled his hands together for a series of hand seals. "It's just a sound barrier, Teinei. Don't be alarmed, it's just precautionary," he told the apprehensive shinobi. Once the jutsu was set, he lowered his arms and they disappeared under his black cloak. "First, I would like to apologize about Lord Hokage Sarutobi. He was a good man." He watched the two Tetsu nod for him to continue.

"But I'm afraid this isn't a social visit to your Village. Lord Orochimaru sent me as well as several of his followers here. Unfortunately, we are all in disguise and arrived at different times to avoid suspicion so it would take time for me to hunt them out for you. It was also done to avoid failure in case of treason." Iroppoi smirked in spite of himself.

"Why were you sent here? Orochimaru already attacked during the Chuunin Exams when he killed Lord Hokage. Wasn't that his goal?" Marugo sat on the couch, folding his arms loosely.

"That wasn't his only goal. He wants Konoha for himself. We're here, primarily, so gather information on your defenses and attack from the inside when the time comes. His plan involves killing Lady Tsunade, of course. But that fact isn't what bothers me the most. It seems one of the infiltrators noticed something during the last attack." Iroppoi closed his eyes, feeling the others' eyes burrowing into him. "A potential problem we are to seek out and take care of."

"And why would that bother you?" Teinei asked bitterly.

"Because the person they described is similar to that of Kurisutaru," Iroppoi said, his patience wearing thin. "Of course, anyone suspected of being our target is to be observed to confirm the final trait. As for the possibility that it's you, I believe is low, but be prepared."

"What's the final trait?"

"I can't answer that, I'm sorry." Iroppoi presented a respectful, apologetic bow. "I _can_ tell you this: the only choice for them to escape death would be to join Lord Orochimaru."

"And in the meantime?"

"In the meantime, war would ensue between our Villages. It won't be pretty, I can promise you that."

Kurisutaru nodded in thought. "And I don't suppose you have anything I can use to track your friends, do you?"

Iroppoi shook his head. "Even if I did, you know I couldn't give it to you."

"Right, I understand. You'll know them if you see them, though, right?"

"It may take a moment, but yes."

"Can you move around the Village without disguise?" Marugo asked.

"I suppose so, as long as it doesn't give us away. In addition, there can be no accidents on my part, since that would raise security," Iroppoi told them. He watched as Teinei glowered suspiciously at his cloak, trying to see the possible array of weapons hidden underneath. Removing the cloak, he passed it to Teinei. "Search it as thoroughly as you like. If I'm to help you, I need some level of trust."

Teinei eyed it carefully before intercepting the cloak. He looked back to Iroppoi to see if there was anything else. His pants were just as black as his cloak and the only shirt he wore was standard, mesh under-armor. Around his neck hung two necklaces, a cross dangling at the end of each, one slightly smaller than the other.

"You're welcome to stick around here, if you like, Iroppoi," Kurisutaru offered. She sized him up with her eyes. "I have to train soon, and you're welcome to come, but do you want to eat first?"

Iroppoi seemed to shift uncomfortably. He finally answered, "Yes, please, if it's not too much trouble."

She immediately swept into the kitchen to return with a large bowl of ramen with two eggs on top, setting it in his lap. He watched the bowl, unsure whether to accept the food or decline. Hunger pains tore through his stomach, causing him to instinctively begin eating, wolfing down the dish with uncontrolled haste.

Kurisutaru waved at Naruto from across the training grounds. He appeared to be training hard, alone. "Hey, Naruto!"

"What are you doing?" Iroppoi hissed, trying not to sound angry.

"If I don't call him over, it'll seem suspicious. He's being taught by Master Jiraiya and speaks to lady Tsunade almost daily," she answered quietly. "Just keep your sunglass on and you'll be fine."

"I'm not worried about that, but Teinei's apprehensiveness could pose a problem."

Teinei's figure was disguisedly rigid as he followed several paces behind the two. Marugo was not accompanying them at the moment. His excuse was that he had business to take care of, though he didn't specify what he was doing or where he was going.

"Hey, Kurisutaru!" Naruto called, waving in return.

"Want to come along to train with Kaki, Uindo, and I?"

"Sure!" Naruto retrieved his belongings and ran over, the group walking to the next training area where Kaki and Uindo stood, waiting.

"Hey, Nut!" Kaki greeted. "Who's the guy with the shades?"

"An old friend," she shrugged. "Let's get started, shall we? Naruto's joining us."

"How are we dividing teams?" Kaki asked.

Uindo looked amongst themselves, deciding. "To make things even, I'll fight with Kaki and Naruto will fight with Kurisutaru."

"I wanted to be against you today," Kaki huffed to Uindo.

"Too bad; you're on my team," he answered.

"Ready, Naruto?" Kurisutaru asked, stepping onto the battlefield. "Remember, we're not Genin."

"Are you kidding? Of course, I'm ready!"

"Then, let's go. Good luck," she smirked, turning to throw three shuriken at each of her teammates before she vanished in a blur.

Naruto turned just in time to catch Kaki's attack, defending against the kunai with his own. "I won't go easy on you," Kaki warned with a smile.

"Good!" Naruto grinned.

A deafening crash sounded from the other side of the field, quickly followed by several quiet crashes. Kurisutaru was encased in a large vortex of wind, like a small tornado, at the instruction of Uindo. He was throwing kunai trough the coursing air, only to have another kunai force it out each time. He looked skyward to the tornado's top as the kunoichi rose from it. Kurisutaru's hands were completing a jutsu as the wind slowed and water formed from it, the humidity of the air. The water took the forms of large needles and hardened into ice before darting towards Uindo.

Kaki had left his standoff with the distracted blonde to assist Uindo. Naruto watched the jutsu in awe. "That's awesome!" He looked back to Iroppoi, seeing his features twisted in distress.

"Damn it!" Iroppoi muttered.

"What is it?" Teinei asked.

Iroppoi nodded at Kurisutaru, causing Teinei and Naruto to follow his gaze. "I was afraid of this… It _is_ her we're looking for."

"You're kidding me," Teinei growled, shocked.

Unable to hear them at their distance, Naruto simply looked at Kurisutaru closely to see what they were focused on. His eyes finally found what the bystanders had been staring at.

"What the--? Kurisutaru has the _Sharingan_?"


	8. Chapter 8: Warning

**Chapter 8: Warning**

Teinei lurched forward to stop the fight in case of nearby spies, but Iroppoi gripped his shoulder firmly. "Don't," he stated quietly, "We're the only ones here. It's best not to raise alarm to the others until we're in private."

"We have to get her out of here before someone sees!" Teinei retorted.

"Why? If she stays here, the strength of your entire Village will be behind you. If we leave, we're on our own and I might not be able to help like I could here."

The younger ninja glared daggers, but he knew Iroppoi was right as the hand lowered from his shoulder. "How do I know you're really on our side?"

"I suppose you don't. After all, I've killed more people than I can possibly remember and I work for one of the most dangerous men alive." Beneath the sunglasses, he saw the red eyes twitch to look at their surroundings.

Teinei opened his mouth to notify Kurisutaru he didn't want to stay long, but he saw Naruto storming forward. "Hey, Kurisutaru! What was that?"

She looked up at him in confusion before quickly turning back to her teammates to say, "Hold on minute, guys. Time out!"

Naruto stormed over until they were face-to-face. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" she asked blankly, the Sharingan disappearing.

"_That_! How did you get--?"

"Great job, Kurisutaru," Iroppoi called over the blonde's voice to interrupt him. "Your senbon aim was a little off, but that's easily fixable."

"Thanks," she returned.

"I think that's it for today. Marugo's waiting for us," Iroppoi said with a smile.

"We should get going," Teinei added.

Kurisutaru received the hint. "Sorry, I forgot," she said as she scratched the back of her head apologetically. "See you guys later; we'll have to continue another time."

The three started to leave for privacy, but Naruto followed. "Hey, answer me!" he demanded. Looking up at Iroppoi, he thought he saw glimpses of red.

Watching the blonde a moment, Iroppoi concluded, "He can come, but not a word until I say so."

Teinei glared in frustration but sighed in defeat. Kurisutaru nodded at Naruto and indicated to follow Iroppoi with a jerk of her neck in the shinobi's direction. Naruto grumbled irritably, following quietly nonetheless, arms folded. To their surprise, Iroppoi led them to the Hokage's building.

Walking past the leader's office, he stepped inside the large, private library. "All right," he granted after the door was closed.

As he performed a simple sound barrier, Kurisutaru asked quietly, "What's going on?"

Naruto began ranting with his own inquiries until Teinei silenced him with a glare. "Well?" the blonde asked.

"Did you do anything that you normally don't during training, Kurisutaru?" Teinei asked.

"No, not really. I was really focused, if that's what you mean."

"Do you usually focus that much?" Iroppoi asked.

"Sometimes, yes. Why?"

"Is anyone going to explain to me what the heck is going on?" Naruto roared. Before the others could silence him, he asked, "Kurisutaru, why did you have the Sharingan?"

"What?" she asked blankly.

"We have to report this to Lady Tsunade," Teinei said.

It took her a moment to react. "And tell her what? A Sound Ninja spy told us Orochimaru is coming to kill her?"

"You're in danger, too!" Teinei objected.

She didn't seem to have heard him as Naruto looked between them. "What spy? Who?"

Iroppoi removed his sunglasses. "I can handle myself, Kurisutaru, but your Village can't stand to lose another Hokage. Though, if we reported it, I doubt it would take him long to figure out whom the traitor was. I don't have time to set up something to throw him off."

Naruto was slowly catching up with the conversation. "So, what do we do?"

Eyes flickered to each other throughout the room. "We stay on our guard," Iroppoi said simply. "If security around you increases, they'll know who to target. In the meantime, I suggest you learn how to control it so you aren't accidentally discovered by using it without your knowledge."

"It takes years to master the Sharingan!" she protested.

"I'm not asking you to master it, just control it. Besides," Iroppoi smiled reassuringly, "You're smart; you'll figure it out."

She opened her mouth to object but he interrupted her. "Until then, you can either wear sunglasses or perform a genjutsu on your eyes if you truly feel that uncomfortable about it." He held out the sunglasses to her but she refused.

"You need them more than I do," she reasoned.

"I still think we should report this to Lady Hokage," Teinei told them.

"You're right," Iroppoi agreed.

"But, if you're a spy, won't they hold you for questioning?" Naruto asked.

"Unfortunately, because of… my previous visits, questioning would be the least of my worries," Iroppoi answered.

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked.

No one answered his question, though Teinei vaguely knew, himself. "I'll report it in a few days," Iroppoi concluded, "That'll give us time to prepare on our own before they lock me up." He turned his crimson eyes to Naruto. "In the meantime, act normal but proceed with caution. If I'm not mistaken, you speak with Lady Tsunade around this time of day."

Naruto blinked with bewilderment. "How did you know that?"

"A predictable schedule isn't always a good thing," he answered with a shrug. "You shouldn't keep your leader waiting," he said with a smirk, knowing the Hokage wouldn't mind if the blonde failed to show up.

Cocking his head to the side, Naruto looked to Kurisutaru for an explanation. "I'll explain later," she whispered.

Unlocking the door, Naruto stepped out and down the hall to Tsunade's office, the Sound Barrier broken. Iroppoi lifted his hands for a transformation jutsu, turning into a mid-aged woman with fire-orange hair cropped short just above her shoulders. Hair stuck crookedly out from above her headband, a simple black cloth with no Village insignia present. Black pants flowed to match the traditional short-sleeved, mesh under armor that rest under a green tank top with a zodiac-style dragon swirling majestically over the front in shimmering gold.

"What are you doing?" Kurisutaru asked in a whisper.

"And why did you let the Kyuubi in on this?" Teinei asked in an equally quiet tone.

"He's a good kid and a decent fighter. More importantly, he has a good relationship with Lady Tsunade and can help her believe our story," Iroppoi's disguised form answered. "I'll meet you at Ichiraku Ramen. There aren't any guards around right now so you won't be noticed."

Iroppoi stepped out of the library and towards the Hokage's office as Teinei and Kurisutaru left in the opposite direction. Two, young guards stood in front of the woman's office. He could hear Naruto and Tsunade arguing loudly over missions through the door.

"What do you need, ma'am?" one guard asked. His hair was dark and wild with bandages over his nose.

"My name is Yokunai Nishi and I need to see Lady Hokage," she answered.

"She's busy at the moment," the other guard answered, hair draping over one side of his face.

"It's important. I won't be long."

The guards exchanged glances and turned to knock on the door. "Lady Tsunade, someone is here to see you," the first guard stated.

"Send them in," she called irritably.

"Stop ignoring me! Why won't you send me, Grandma Tsunade?" Naruto fumed.

"Stop calling me 'Grandma!' Now, get out! I have work to do!"

"He's fine, Lady Tsunade," Yokunai assured. Giving a respectful bow, she said, "Thank you for taking time to see me."  
"Of course, Miss…?"

"Yokunai Nishi, ma'am," she reminded.

"Who do you think you are? I was here first!" Naruto yelled at the newcomer.

"Ignore him," Tsunade told her.

"Very well. I'm here to report some information regarding Lord Orochimaru."

Tsunade snapped to attention, as did her assistant Shizune. Even the small, pink pig in her arms appeared interested. "What do you have to report?"

Naruto watched curiously, wondering if it was Iroppoi or possibly someone else. Yokunai nodded. "He has sent several followers into Konohagakure to assassinate you when the order is given. He is also looking to either recruit or destroy the final member of the Uchiha Clan."

"He already has Sasuke Uchiha," Tsunade said.

"There's one more," Yokunai told them, "A female whom I've already identified."

"Who is it?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that information, but I assure you she's in good hands."

"Are you telling me you want a ransom?"

Yokunai bowed respectfully again. "Not at all, Lady Hokage. You misunderstand me. I have not notified anyone of my discovery other than you, her, and two of her closest friends. I am the only one among the spies who know her name and location."

"If you're here to help, then why not show me your real face? Is Yokunai Nishi even your real name?"

"Forgive me, but if I were to show you my true identity, I would likely be executed after immediate questioning."

"What's your crime?" Tsunade asked calmly, though obviously on her guard.

"Several crimes litter my record, but I think the most prominent would be mass murder and the fact, alone, that I work for the assassin of Lord Hokage Sarutobi." Yokunai's eyes darted to Shizune, who was preparing to attack. "Calm down, Shizune. If I had plans to kill Lady Tsunade right now, I would have done it already and I wouldn't have left any witnesses."

Tsunade motioned to Shizune to settle down. Turning back to their mysterious guest, she asked, "How soon?"

"Less than a week, I believe. That's all I know right now."

The Hokage straightened a stack of papers on her desk and set them aside. "How can I reach you? I don't like one-sided relationships."

Yokunai thought for several moments, saying to herself, "I suppose, you're right. Though, how do I know you won't call me just to catch me? No, I don't think you would do something like that. Especially not if you're anything like the Third…" She tilted her head back in thought. "It's kind of ironic, you know… I've been searching for you for years and I can't even tell you who I am."

The older woman's eyes narrowed. "Why have you been searching for me?"

Yokunai closed her ceiling-directed eyes. "Maybe another time. If I told you now, it could give me away. As for contacting me," she started, indicating to Naruto, "Tell him and I'll find out one way or another. I change identities regularly, so I wouldn't rely on appearances or names."

"How do I k now it's you, then?"

"After I enter, I'll tell you my chickens have been stolen. Fair enough?"

"I suppose I have no other choice, do I?"

"Not really," Yokunai smiled.

"All right, then," Tsunade granted, "Fair enough."

"Lunchtime," Yokunai declared, disappearing in a flash.

Tsunade dismissed Naruto immediately and told Shizune, "Get my records of Orochimaru's followers and their records. See which of them have been here to Konoha and/or have illnesses. Any descriptions Yokunai gave of her- or himself and bring them to me. We need to know who we're dealing with."

Naruto reached the foot of the stairs to the building when he spotted Yokunai. "Sorry that I cut your meeting short, but Lady Tsunade wasn't going to budge, anyway. Let's go; Kurisutaru and Teinei are waiting at Ichiraku for us."

"You said you would go in to tell her in a few days!" he accused.

"Didn't you hear? We don't have that kind of time. Besides, you couldn't have been expecting me to show up."


	9. Chapter 9: Planning

**Chapter 9: Planning**

"What's the deal with you? And how do you know so much?" Naruto demanded as they walked.

"I work for Lord Orochimaru and I have for several years. As for how I know so much, it's a secret," Yokunai said with a playful wink.

"Do you know where he is, then?"

"As of right now: no."

"What about--?"

"I can't see and know everything. It's impossible," she stated. The street was deserted and Yokunai scanned the area and found no sign of people that could see her end her transformation jutsu. A puff of smoke swallowed her and cleared to reveal Iroppoi.

"So, you're Kurisutaru's friend?" Naruto asked, remembering his conversation with her.

"She is my friend and I feel honored if she considers me a friend," he answered.

"How did Orochimaru trick you?"

"She told you he tricked me?"

"Yeah, why? Was she lying?"

"No, not entirely. Bribes and lies I was too willing to believe are what caused me to join him. I was young and stupid, and I've been paying for it ever since."

"How?"

Iroppoi shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"Didn't your family ever come after you?"

"No."

"What? Why not?" he asked, flabbergasted.

"They're dead, and the ones who are alive were probably too young to remember I exist."

"How did they die? You make it sound like they were murdered or something. By who?" He gulped when he saw the cold glance out of the corner of Iroppoi's sunglasses.

"My parents were executed for the murder of several people, including my older brother Reis. My younger sister Ai was killed… in an accident," he ended vaguely.

"What about other people in your family like cousins and stuff?"

"They're probably dead, too."

"What makes you say that?"

"People in my family don't really live long. We die young one way or another."

"Why?"

Cutting off their conversation, Iroppoi waved at Kurisutaru ahead of them. "Mission accomplished," he called with a smile. "Teuchi, I'll have beef ramen, if you please."

The cook nodded and started cooking the order with the help of his daughter. "And the usual for you, Naruto?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered, pouting from the lack of an answer.

It appeared that Teinei was arguing with Kurisutaru while she ate ramen. "I said I'm not going! I'm staying here," she declared.

"Why not?" he demanded to know.

"Because if he's after me, I'm going to stay and fight," she whispered harshly.

"Go where?" Naruto asked.

"Nowhere," Kurisutaru answered, slurping more ramen.

Teinei sighed. "You haven't seen them for years. You might as well." He was seizing the opportunity to get her out of Konoha and to the Land of Snow, but it wasn't going smoothly.

Iroppoi thought a moment. "I think it's a good idea," he told her, "You should go"

She set down her chopsticks and groaned, "Not you, too!"

"You know we're right," Iroppoi stated, standing to the side rather than sitting.

"I know, but I want to stay! Besides, you're forgetting a few major details," she said, arms folded on the table by her empty bowls of ramen.

Naruto slurped his ramen and listened. '_Damn! If they're going to clue me in, why won't they tell me everything?_'

"After you're done eating, go home and pack what you need. I'll handle the rest," Iroppoi said. He eyed Naruto a moment, clearly thinking. "You pack, too," he instructed.

"Why? Where are we going?" Naruto asked.

"You're going to the Land of Snow. I'm staying here," Iroppoi answered.

"Do you really think Lady Hokage will give us permission to go, especially on such short notice?" Kurisutaru asked, considering the idea reluctantly.

"I'll ask nicely," he shrugged.

"And if that doesn't work?"

A smirk crept onto his face. "I can persuade her."

She gasped, "You wouldn't!"

"Calm down, I'm kidding," he said. Iroppoi's body abruptly grew rigid. "I have to go," he said quickly. In the next moment, he was gone.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked as he downed another bowl of ramen.

Kurisutaru turned and looked down the street to see a small girl crying because of a nasty, furiously-bleeding gash on her knee.

A little boy, dirty and dressed in rags, ran through the village and didn't stop until he reached the outside of the Hokage's office. "Lady Tsunade," he called frantically past the guards holding him back, "I need your help!"

She looked up from the Jounin she was speaking to. "What is it?"

"My chickens have been stolen!" he cried, catching his breath.

Dismissing the Jounin, she instructed the guards to let the boy inside and close the doors. "This is a surprise," she said casually.

He gave a slight bow of respect. "I hope I didn't interrupt something important?"

"No, he was about to leave, anyway. Why the visit?"

"I have a favor to ask."

Tsunade furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Fabricate a mission or give permission for three ninjas to go to the Land of Snow immediately."

"Anyone specific in mind?" she asked suspiciously with a hint of irritation.

"Teinei Buke, Kurisutaru Tetsu, and Naruto Uzumaki," he stated.

Groaning slightly at the last name, she asked, "Why do they have to go there?"

"Permission to visit Kurisutaru's relatives, ma'am," he said, bluntly hinting it was only partially true.

"Will you be going with them?"

"No, ma'am."

Tsunade tapped her index finger on the desk in thought. "I came across a file earlier… An old report you might be familiar with?" She pulled out a folder from a desk drawer and set it in front of her. Eyeing him as he stayed silent, she opened the folder. "Do you know anything about this incident?"

He stepped forward to the desk and read over the file quickly. It was the report of his accident five years ago with a meat cart. "Was the person ever caught?"

"He was never positively identified by name, but his description is on the next page of the document." She evaluated his face and body language as she spoke.

Smiling, he knew he was caught. "You're very good, Lady Tsunade. I would expect nothing less of a Sannin."

It didn't show, but Shizune and Tsunade felt his body tense, readying to run. "Easy, kid. There's no ambush. If it'll make you feel better, I'll tell the guards to check paperwork at another part of the building," Tsunade said.

"That's not necessary, Lady Tsunade," he insisted.

"Why is this so important to you?" she asked. "And you better give me a full, honest answer. I'll know if you're lying."

Iroppoi's disguised form sighed. The full truth in exchange for her sparing his life and freedom? Touch choice. "Because I have no family and few friends that wouldn't kill me the first chance they get. I won't let friends like that be tormented senselessly."

"Tell me their name. The one Orochimaru is after." After his prolonged, uncomfortable silence, she commanded, "Who is it?"

He reluctantly answered, "Kurisutaru Tetsu."

"A Tetsu with Sharingan?" Tsunade confirmed disbelievingly.

Making a small nod, he said, "And she can't control it yet. Will you let them go to the Land of Snow?"

"Yes," she said, holding up her index and middle fingers, "but on two conditions."

"What would that be?" Iroppoi knew better than to use the answer "anything," because he knew he would be held strictly to it.

Lowering her middle finger, she said, "Tell me your name." Tsunade raised the finger again and told him, "And yo uhave to show me what you really look like."

He noded to Shizune. "Then she leaves."

Tsunade nodded, "But Tonton stays."

Eyeing the pig curiously, he acqueisced with a brief nod. Shizune left the room, leaving her pink pig behind next to Tsunade's desk. The moment she was gone, Iroppoi eneded his transformation jutsu and he was kneeling on one knee. Removing his sunglasses, he tucked them away. Little to the Hokage's notice, he knelt partially for the reason that it would be easier to attack or dodge. Habitual reflexes caused him to do so, but he forced himself to stand against those reflexes.

"I am Iroppoi Kagenma," he said, opening his eyes to reveal their crimson color.

She seemed taken aback for only a brief moment. "A kekkei genkai?"

"Yes."

"What does it do?"

"Many things," he answered vaguely. Stepping outside of his comfort zone, he deactivated it so grass-green eyes watched the Hokage.

"It must be pretty special if Orochimaru has you because of it," she noted.

Iroppoi answered with a small smirk, "Too bad he'll never get it." In one swift motion, he reactivated his Kasukagan, put on his sunglasses, and transformed into the same, little boy he had been when he'd entered. "Good-bye for now, Lady Tsunade."

As he walked out the door of her office, Tsunade's mind twisted with uncertainty. She didn't like to be ordered around, especially not by one of Orochimaru's minions. Her mind began reevaluating his figure: built and worn from years of vigorous training under Orochimaru. When she loked up at Shizune as the woman reentered the room, Tsunade's thoughts drifted back in time for a moment and she thought about the other aspects of Iroppoi's personality under the initial wear and tear. There was child-like innocence, desperation, sincere need to protect what was dear to him…

Sighing irritably with defeat, Tsunade said, "Shizune, send a message out to Teinei Buke, Kurisutaru Tetsu, and Naruto Uzumaki for them to reporrt to me immediately for a mission to the Land of Snow."

"We're supposed to collect a sample of _what_?" Naruto yelled as they walked out of the Hokage's office. "Why does she need a piece of _snow_, anyway?"

"Scientific research to see if it holds any specific properties," Kurisutaru answered.

Kanojo looked like she was about to cry. "You're leaving?" Teinei couldn't tell if it was sincere or fake tears.

"You'll still have Marugo," Kurisutaru assured.

He smiled and rolled his eyes in a sarcastic "don't remind her" sort of way. Marugo handed Kurisutaru a little piece of paper. "Here's the address for their house in case you don't remember."

Teinei glared over Kanojo's shoulder. "We should get going."

Kurisutaru didn't notice who Teinei was glaring at until her brother pulled her into a hug. Her slight shyness to the embrace jolted into near-panic as she pulled away immediately. Marugo's face immediately showed concerned bewilderment. "Sorry," she whispered.

Marugo turned to see Motobe and a few of his friends conversing, occasionally chancing glances in their direction. "He won't do anything," he muttered.

She nodded in a way of answering, "I know." Adjusting the backpack she carried, Kurisutaru said, "Let's go. I want to finish this mission as soon as possible." Truthfully, she'd rather not go, but it had been assigned as a mission so she couldn't refuse. Even more so, the Hokage didn't assign a time limit for the mission.

Teinei let Kurisutaru and Naruto walk ahead of him, just in case. He watched as a little blonde girl walked up to Kurisutaru and poke one finger on her locket with a smile.

"Good luck," she said, "And be careful." Then, the girl skipped away and out of sight.

"That was nice of him," she murmured to herself.

The three stepped through the Village Gates and heard Motobe swear loudly. Looking back, they saw him rubbing the front most part of his head where it had apparently hit the wall he was standing by, while Kaki was stumbling to a stop, waving his hand at them as they departed. Uindo ran more gracefully behind Kaki, but seemingly accidentally bumped Motobe again so the back of his head hit the wall, as well.

Teinei stifled a snicker as Naruto roared with laughter. Kurisutaru looked at them with a disapproving raise of her eyebrow before smiling and waving in return. Turning back, the trio left Konohagakure.


	10. Chapter 10: A Dog

**Chapter 10: A Dog**

Naruto looked at Teinei disbelievingly. When the climate had change and Naruto and Kurisutaru pulled on warmer clothes, Teinei did not. He didn't seem bothered by the weather in the least. Was he impervious to the cold or something? "Are we almost there?" he asked somewhat irritably.

To answer his question, Kurisutaru pointed up ahead of them in the wooded area to a small house. "There it is," she said.

"Why is there a genjutsu around it?" Teinei asked.

"It's to hide its size and make it less noticeable," she replied. Striding up to the door, she knocked just enough so it could be heard.

A little boy peeked out past the chain lock. "Who are you?" His hair was jet-black with white wisps, and short and spiky.

Kurisutaru smiled warmly. "Are your parents or Yuuta home?"

"Kaido, what are you doing?" a voice asked from inside, "Who's at the door?" A girl approximately the same age as Kurisutaru walked up behind the toddler. Her hair was long and white with black wisps where Kaido's were white: a near-perfect opposite. She gasped when she saw her visitors, immediately unlocking the door. "Kurisutaru, come in!"

"Where is everybody?" Kurisutaru asked as they entered.

"Mom and Dad are on a mission," Yuuta said, scooping Kaido in her arms. "What are you doing here?"

"A mission," she answered. Motioning to her company, she said, "These are my friends Naruto and Teinei."

"It's been years since we visited the Land of Fire. How did you know where our house was?"

"Marugo told me."

"Ah, I see. Well, I was just about to start supper. Are you staying?"

"If you don't mind; yes."

"Can you watch Kaido while I cook?"

"Sure," Teinei answered, predicting his friend's next sentence.

"I'll help," Kurisutaru offered, following her distant cousin to the kitchen.

"Want to see my new toy?" Kaido asked the visitors.

"Okay," Teinei agreed, and he was immediately being pulled by the hand to sit on the couch.

Naruto sat on the floor, shoes removed.

Kaido began showing both of them his toys, visually proud. He suddenly stopped, taking great interest in the whiskers on the blonde's face. "How did you get those?" he asked curiously.

"These? I've always had them." Feeling only slightly awkward, he let the child poke at the whisker-like birthmarks on his face. As he poked, Naruto asked Teinei, "So, how is she related to these guys?"

"Kurisutaru's mother is a cousin of Yuuta's father. The entire Tetsu clan has roots that trace back here at some point. Even some members of the Buke clan do, too," Teinei answered, not paying attention.

There was a very light series of taps from below the floorboards of the room. "What's that?" Naruto asked.

"That's Soichi," Kaido chirped as he pulled carefully at the skin on the blonde's cheeks to test if the marks stretched. "She's probably hungry."

"Is that your cat?" Naruto asked.

"No," he answered simply. "She's our--"

Yuuta entered. "Dog," she finished quickly. "We can't have her out when guests are over, especially when our parents aren't home."

"Does she have a disease or something?" the blonde asked.

Her nose twisted, "She's not suitable for company. Anyway, dinner is ready."

Teinei watched as Kaido pouted angrily, glaring at Yuuta with obedient silence, but clearly not understanding the situation. Naruto stood with the two-year-old in his arms as Kaido continued to investigate the whisker marks, walking to the dining room. The child refused to be removed from Naruto's arms and ate while sitting in his lap at the table.

Kurisutaru couldn't resist cracking a smile whenever she looked at them. She was surprised when he didn't grow annoyed over dinner, as he was being pelted with questions and news about Kaido, himself. The table grew quiet when more light taps sounded beneath the floor in the living room.

"I'll go check on her," Yuuta announced as she stood.

"Can I go see Soichi?" Kaido asked, "Can she come out?"

"No," Yuuta said sternly. Leaving the dining room, she disappeared into the living room.

Kaido folded his arms and pouted, "But Soichi was going to show me a new trick today," he grumbled.

"Did you teach her a trick?" Naruto asked.

"No. She learns them and shows me. Then, Mommy, Daddy, and Yuuta get mad."

"Why?"

Kaido shrugged. "They say she's dangerous, but I think she's really nice!"

Kurisutaru didn't like what she was hearing in the least. "Dangerous how? Should Yuuta be down there by herself?"

There was a loud thump that made Naruto jump to his feet, Kaido still in his arms. Shifting the child to his back, he ran to the living room. "Yuuta, are you okay?"

She stood in the doorway, rubbing the top of her fingers and hand soothingly as it bruised. "I'm fine. I just tripped by accident and landed on my hand."

"Let Kurisutaru take a look at your hand," Naruto said. When they re-entered the dining room, Kurisutaru and Teinei were starting to clean up. "Hey, can you take a look at her hand/"

Kurisutaru held out her hand for her relative's and turned it over gently in her grasp. Closely examining the hand, she mentally noted that it appeared to be from punching something which curbed around the shape of Yuuta's fist. "There's some swelling from the initial impact, but no harm done. You'll be fine in a minute or two," she said aloud.

"I didn't think it would be very bad," Yuuta said, "Kaido, time for bed; it's late."

He slid off Naruto's back and whined, "But I want to see Soichi!"

"She's already asleep," Yuuta told him, scooping the child in her arms. "I'll be back in a minute."

"That definitely wasn't from falling," Kurisutaru noted quietly when Yuuta was gone, "She punched something."

"Are you sure?" Teinei asked.

"Are you saying she punched the dog?" Naruto asked after she nodded.

"If it was a dog, she wouldn't have wasted time with bending over and just kicked it," Teinei reasoned. "And, if she did, the dog could've bit her face and I don't think Yuuta would take that chance."

"So, what's down there?" Naruto asked.

"Whatever it is, it's big and it's not an animal," Teinei decided. He looked to Kurisutaru. "Do you want to check it out?"

She unconsciously tinkered with her locket between her fingers in thought. "No, not right now. If we see something we shouldn't, we'll wear out our welcome."

"We're supposed to ignore it, then?" Naruto asked.

"For now," Teinei confirmed.

Yuuta soon returned and cleaned from dinner with Kurisutaru's help. Afterwards, she escorted Kurisutaru to her parents' vacant bedroom to sleep, and then she escorted Teinei and Naruto into the room that would soon be Kaido's. "He's sleeping in my room for now until the final touches on this room are done," Yuuta explained. "Goodnight, guys."

The moment she closed the door, Teinei opened the window and Naruto asked, "Where are you going?"

"The roof; you can have the bed," Teinei answered. Quickly climbing out the window, he closed it enough so the outside cold wouldn't affect the room's temperature but so he could re-enter later.

Naruto rolled his eyes and lay down to sleep. Hours later, something caused him to wake up and he couldn't fall asleep again. Giving up, he crawled out of bed and snuck downstairs, and he stepped outside. It was cold, but the wind was still as he walked around the woods. Looking up at the moon, he recognized it to be waning gibbous.

"Pretty, isn't it?" a girl asked form a tree above him.

He jumped, not expecting to have company. "What?"

"The moon: it's pretty," she repeated in paraphrase.

"What are you doing out here?" He saw her long, white hair appear to glow in the moon's light. When she looked down at him, her eyes were an icy grey-blue and deep in thought.

"I come out here at night to play."

"How?"

Her lips turned into a slight from with her conflicting inner thoughts before she leapt down gracefully from the tree. He saw that her jeans were black and her sweater was baby pink, made of undeniably warm fleece. "Do you want to see?"

"Sure," Naruto answered.

She thought more, as if contemplating his reaction or maybe his sincerity. Once she was satisfied with her conclusion, she knelt down on one knee and scooped up a handful of snow with a pebble. Standing, she plucked a twig from the tree and set it in the snow in her hands next to the pebble already there. Closing her other hand over the top, she took a deep breath as her eyes glowed brighter with a hint of green and gray swimming in her irises. When her hand moved from over the snow, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Is that for real?" Naruto wondered aloud in awe. In her hand where the snow had been was a miniature waterfall. It was a rocky, snowed-over landscape with a few tiny, scattered trees. The water actually ran through it and pooled at the bottom, no source of water in sight. It was accurate down to the very last detail, but absent of animals.

"What do you think?" she asked cheerily.

"That's amazing!"

"Hey!" a voice called.

With a gasp, she ducked to the ground behind the tree, dropping the tiny waterfall as it turned into snow once again. "Who was that?" she asked quietly.

Before he could answer, Kaido yelled again, "Where did you go?"

Naruto watched as a smile stretched over her face as it lit up happily, almost in tears from joy as she stood. "Kaido!" she called, running from behind the tree and straight to him. She knelt slightly in her run so he could jump into her arms in a hug. Pulling him away from her stomach a moment, she winced. "Be careful. I hurt my tummy," she said.

"What happened, Soichi?" Kaido asked worriedly.

"Wait, _Soichi_?" Naruto asked, "_This_ is _Soichi_?"

"Yeah, that's me," she answered, pulling Kaido closer protectively, "What about it?"

"How do you two know each other?"

"She's my big sister," Kaido chirped.

"Quiet, Kaido," Soichi murmured.

"How old are you? Why were you locked downstairs and then Yuuta lied about it? And how did you do that thing with the snow?" Naruto pressed.

"I'm eleven and Yuuta is… cautious."

Naruto took a step towards her and she quickly took two steps back. "Why did she punch you in the stomach?"

"I don't have to answer you!"

"Why do they hate you?"

Soichi stopped in her tracks. "What?"

"I saw it in Yuuta's face when she said you name," he answered softly.

She waited several moments before asking, "Have you ever heard of the nine Bijuu?"

"More or less," he replied carefully.

"How about Jinchuuriki?"

"I know a thing or two about them."

Once again Soichi drew out the silence, full of caution. "I'm the Jinchuuriki for the Bijuu Houkou."

Naruto blinked twice. It made complete sense to him now. The hate and masked fear in Yuuta's face should have given it away immediately. "Are you serious?"

"Why would I want someone to believe I was a demonic freak if I was normal?" she answered, nearly in tears.

"You're not a demonic freak," he replied, "because then I would be, too."

Soichi's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? You can't possibly be…"

"Why not? I've met another Jinchuuriki besides you, so I don't find your story that hard to believe." Naruto glanced down at the sleeping Kaido in her arms. "He should go inside so he doesn't get sick out here."

She looked at the boy curled up in her arms against her body. "But, I don't want to go back down there," Soichi replied softly, "I hate it there."

"I'll take him in, then." Naruto watched as she thought and heard a faint grumble of her stomach. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Breakfast, I think," she answered. "I was wondering… which Bijuu is it?"

"Kyuubi," he said quietly.

"Hey, Naruto?" Kurisutaru called.

He turned to see her approaching, wearing blue-and-white flannel pajamas. "Hey, Kurisutaru!"

"It's the middle of the night; what are you doing out here?" she asked.

"I was just talking to--" He turned back and Soichi was gone. Naruto jumped when he heard the tree whisper.

"Who's she?" the voice asked.

"She's okay," Naruto assured. "Kurisutaru, this is Soichi." He motioned to where he heard the voice come from.

"Soichi is a tree? Are you feeling all right?"

"What? No! Soichi is--"

"Maybe you should go to bed."

"I'm fine!" he insisted.

To stop the arguing, Soichi slowly released the illusion on herself and Kaido that caused them to look like part of the tree's trunk. The girl's morphing appearance left Kurisutaru momentarily speechless. She felt like smacking herself in the forehead for not figuring it out. Kurisutaru had read files on all the Jinchuuriki that had been documented so far in the Hokage's library. Name: Soichi Raito. Last recorded location: rural Land of Snow.

"Kaido will get sick if he stays out here. You can sleep with me for the night," Kurisutaru said.

Soichi considered this, apprehensive. "I don't know…"

"Naruto, go inside and bring a sandwich to my room, please," Kurisutaru said. Speaking loudly, she called, "Teinei? Come here, please?"

Teinei arrived in moments. "What is it?"

"Can you put Kaido back to bed without Yuuta noticing?"

"No problem," he replied. Teinei offered his arms out for Kaido, but waited until Soichi surrendered him before taking the boy away. He was gone in a flash.

"Soichi, you come with me, okay?" Kurisutaru said with a warm, comforting smile. Taking the girl by the hand, she led Soichi into the house and to her assigned bedroom. Naruto was waiting there with the sandwich he was asked to make.

As Soichi ate, the three ninjas discussed. Teinei left for the roof after some time and Naruto asked, "So, what are we going to do when Yuuta finds out we know?"

"We'll handle it tomorrow. For now, just go to sleep. Goodnight," Kurisutaru decided, ushering him out.

Curled up now in the large bed, Soichi's tired eyes traveled up to them. "Naruto? Kurisutaru? Thanks."

"No problem," Naruto said as he left.

Kurisutaru smiled as she closed the door. "You're welcome." Turning off the lights, Soichi was already asleep as Kurisutaru climbed in bed, asleep almost instantly from the night's activities tiring toll.


	11. Chapter 11: My Sister

**Chapter 11: My Sister**

Naruto's eyes cracked open to see Teinei fast asleep on the floor, leaning against the wall. There was a faint shuffle from Kurisutaru's room that caused Teinei's eyes to snap open. With another noise, he was on his feet and out the door, Naruto at his heels.

"I'm sorry," Soichi whimpered, "Please, don't be mad." She was hiding under the large bed, cowering from her sister, with her arm being pulled by Yuuta.

"Get out from under there," Yuuta hissed.

"Stop it," Kurisutaru pleaded, trying to separate them with a hand on each of their wrists.

When Yuuta pushed her away, Kurisutaru's grip relatively loose so she wouldn't injure her relatives, Teinei snarled, "That's enough." He gripped Yuuta's opposite wrist with near bone-breaking force.

"Let go!" she ordered, trying to rip her wrist free. When it only tightened, Yuuta screeched and released Soichi to try to pry Teinei off.

Kurisutaru peered under the bed at Soichi's defeated, terrified face, and she felt like she was looking through a mental mirror at herself. Naruto was at her side, trying to coax the younger girl out. "It's okay now, Soichi; come out," he encouraged.

She shook her head vigorously, eyes shut tight to block everything out and hold herself, and Houkou, together.

Putting her hand on Naruto's arm to pull it back, Kurisutaru said gently, "Come out whenever you're ready."

"Let's talk downstairs," Teinei suggested demandingly to Yuuta. His grip was less deadly, but still painfully tight.

She nodded in angry defeat, still desperately attempting to rip her arm free. "Fine," she groaned.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows sympathetically. "We'll be downstairs, okay?"

Soichi sniffled in response.

The four shuffled down the stairs, Teinei keeping his grip on Yuuta's wrist. After she was sitting in a chair, he released her and demanded, "Explain."

Glaring defiantly, Yuuta asked, "Since when am I supposed to be interrogated in my own house?"

"Would you rather we did it outside?"

"Who is she and why was she in the basement?" Kurisutaru asked when Yuuta didn't respond.

When there was still no answer, Teinei sighed. "We can make you talk, you know."

"You wouldn't torture me," Yuuta spat.

"Who said anything about torture?" Teinei said with a smirk.

Kurisutaru's hand shaped seals before she reached out and touched the index and middle fingers of her right hand to Yuuta's forehead, muttering the jutsu's name in a foreign language. Yuuta's body froze and her eyes locked wide open and straight ahead. Kurisutaru repeated Teinei's question.

"Soichi Raito; my younger sister. She was in the basement because that's where she's supposed to be kept."

"What do you mean?"

"By order of the Land of Snow, she must always stay indoors, and by order of our parents, she is to stay in the basement when they're not home or there are guests," Yuuta answered, monotone.

"Why?"

"She's dangerous."

"What makes her dangerous?" Kurisutaru asked to confirm her findings.

"She is the container for Houkou."

"Why did you punch her?"

"To knock her out so she would be quiet."

"But she's your sister!" Naruto yelled.

Kurisutaru agreed, but continued asking questions. "And what about Kaido? He cares about her."

"I'm trying to change that."

"Why? The full story, Yuuta."

"Because Akatsuki will spare us for a trade if they ever find out she's here, and maybe they'll let me join. Soichi couldn't even fight: an expensive dog on a silver platter for their disposal."

Kurisutaru removed her fingers as she covered her mouth to gasp. At the same moment, Naruto lurched forward and tackled Yuuta off the chair and to the ground, gripping the front of her shirt. "What's _wrong_ with you? She's your sister! Don't you know that, if Akatsuki gets her, she'll die?" Naruto roared.

"That's her problem, not mine," Yuuta sneered.

He drew back a fist to punch her, but it was caught by a pair of warm, gentle ones.

"Don't fight," Kurisutaru pleaded quietly.

"But she--!" Naruto protested, but it faltered when he saw Kurisutaru's face. It was pleading and insistent, but simultaneously flat, dead, and detached. He slowly realized that she had to detach herself for her own mental protection, and he realized that she probably couldn't emotionally handle the situation otherwise.

Pulling him off of Yuuta, Kurisutaru offered a hand to her. "I have a proposal," she said.

Yuuta didn't take her hand and sat up on her own, pulling herself into a chair. "Like what?" she asked stiffly.

"We won't tell anyone about her being a Jinchuuriki under a few conditions," Kurisutaru offered. "First is that she doesn't have to live in the basement anymore, not even when we leave. Second is that she is allowed to go outdoors when there is no one around, so you don't get in trouble. And most importantly, _never_ treat Soichi that way again. You can think of her however you want, but you will not treat her with such disrespect. Is that understood?"

Grinding her teeth with angry frustration, Yuuta growled, "I don't have a choice, do I?"

Teinei shook his head. "Not in the least."

She huffed. "I'll do what I can, but I can't make any promises. The rest, you'll have to take up with my parents."

"Until then, these conditions will be followed. If anything bad comes of it, I'll take full responsibility," she answered.

Yuuta sighed irritably and stood, leaving to start making breakfast. Naruto watched as Teinei muttered something in Kurisutaru's ear, and she nodded. He muttered a second time and she seemed to think harder like she was unsure, slowly shaking her head. Kurisutaru left for the staircase and Naruto left after her or he would undoubtedly put knots on Yuuta's head.

Soichi remained under the bed as Kurisutaru tried to comfort her with small talk from her place sitting beside the bed. "What do you like to do in your free time, Soichi?"

Naruto listened from outside the door as she answered, "I like to play with Kaido, and look outside."

"How many times have you been outside?"

"Last night was my third time. I usually just look from the windows."

"How would you like to go outside more?"

"I'll get in trouble…"

"We'll handle that, don't worry. Do you want to learn how to fight to defend yourself?"

Lying on her side, Soichi moved forward until her head was visible, putting Kurisutaru in view. "I would, but I'm scared."

"It's okay to be scared. But, if you know how to fight, not only can you defend yourself, but you can protect others."

"Like who?"

"Like Kaido, for instance."

She seemed to consider this, creeping back under the bed, making Kurisutaru believe she'd failed. Disproving that belief, Soichi began crawling out on her stomach until she was sitting beside the bed. "Who's going to teach me? Yuuta?" she asked skeptically.

"No, definitely not Yuuta," Kurisutaru assured, "Teinei will get you started on the basics. I will be helping you after that."

"What about Naruto?"

"He could help, too. We haven't asked him yet, though. Otherwise, he'll probably just watch."

Soichi tucked her knees to her chest, resting her chin at the top and wrapping her arms around her shins. Staring at the ground, she asked, "Do you think… he could train me instead of you?"

Naruto was confused by the question as he continued to listen outside the door and began to wonder when he should enter or if he should just leave. He concluded to checking on Kaido to see if he was awake yet.

Kurisutaru scanned Soichi's face carefully for signs of an ulterior motive, such as having a crush, but she found none. There was no blushing, no fidgeting, and no signs of daydreaming. "I can ask him, but can you answer something?"

"Okay," Soichi replied, waiting for the question.

"Are you afraid of me because I'm a girl like Yuuta or because I'm related to you?"

Shifting uncomfortably, she muttered, "Sort of both, actually."

Kurisutaru nodded in understanding. She looked up to see Kaido peeking around the door. "You can come in," she permitted.

He smiled and opened the door fully to reveal Naruto holding a plate of food. "I thought you'd be hungry and breakfast is ready, so…"

Soichi smiled. "Thanks," she said as Kaido launched himself into her lap. Sniffing the air in an attempt to identify the food, she asked, "What is it?"

"I have no idea," he answered, "It looks like sloppy soup to me."

Kurisutaru peered into the bowl. "It's oatmeal, I think."

"What's oatmeal?" Naruto asked.

"Oats, water, milk and sugar combined. Sometimes honey is added. I've never ate it before, though," Kurisutaru answered.

"We import the oats," Soichi replied. "Sometimes we buy it from indoor agricultural farms in the Land of Snow, but they're more expensive and harder to come by."

Kurisutaru took the bowl from Naruto and set it down by Soichi. "How does it taste?"  
She seemed to think about the question. "It's okay, I guess. Why don't you get a bowl for yourselves?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Kurisutaru agreed.

Soichi was about to reach for the bowl when she heard footsteps on the stairs. For a moment, every muscle in her body froze. Quickly but carefully removing Kaido from her lap, she scurried underneath the bed. A quiet growl rose from her stomach so she tugged the bowl under with her.

Moments later, Yuuta walked in with a stifled scowl on her face. "Kaido, time for breakfast," she said flatly.

He looked back at Soichi, concerned, before snapping his attention back to Yuuta with a grin. "Okay," he chirped.

When she walked away with Kaido, Teinei replaced her in the doorway. "Soichi, are you under there?" he asked. He knew she didn't know he knew so he pretended that he didn't know she was there.

"Yes," she replied quietly.

"After you're done eating, come outside through the back door. I suggest not wearing nice clothes," he said.

"But, I--"

"You have fifteen minutes," Teinei answered, cutting her off. Turning to Kurisutaru and Naruto, he advised, "You two should eat, too." He eyed the blonde a moment before exiting.

"Will he just make up his mind about hating me or not?" Naruto grumbled.

"He doesn't hate you," Kurisutaru replied.

"Just like oranges are blue!"

"It's true," she assured. "It's Kyuubi that he hates, not you. Teinei's having a difficult time dealing with it, that's all. He _is_ trying, Naruto."

"Why?" he asked with a disbelieving scoff.

"A few reasons," Kurisutaru answered, "Partly because I asked, and also because, as long as you're not his enemy, he'll do what he can to help you. It's his nindo; his ninja way."

Soichi followed Kurisutaru out the back door, wearing a set of her elder sister's old training clothes. She was very uneasy about venturing outside, but it was also an exhilarating experience that she enjoyed, sweeping away the worries of getting in trouble. Her eyes scanned the transformed landscape. Where it had once been empty of anything except snow and the forest several yards away, there was now a small training area that led into the trees.

"Won't someone notice this?" Soichi asked.

"Nope," Teinei replied. "Right now, there's a layered genjutsu on this area. Kurisutaru is helping me with a more permanent solution, though."

"Why can't you just leave up the genjutsu?"  
"Because it could be easily poked holes in. They won't know what's here, just that something _is_. It's just too inconsistent to leave without maintenance."

"Oh," Soichi mumbled to herself.

"Now, I'll get you started on the basics before Kurisutaru and I get to work. Since he's itching to do something, Naruto can help you from there for a while in the taijutsu and stuff. Kurisutaru will help in chakra control and the technical things. I'll do the rest," Teinei explained.

Once he showed her what to do at each part of the makeshift training grounds, Teinei wished her luck and joined Kurisutaru, who was bundled up and pouring over a research book by the back door. The black color of her pants made her chest-tucked knees look like a block for the book to sit neatly in her view. Her huddled body and thick, sky-blue coat caused her torso to look like a color-treated marshmallow, black gloves disappearing from view on the book's pages. A large, white scarf was wrapped around her neck, covering her nose, mouth, and ears so only her eyes upward were visible. It vaguely reminded Naruto of Kakashi's mask as he glanced over form training. The ends of the wrapped scarf dangled over Kurisutaru's right shoulder, also pinning down her hair from blowing in the wind.

Teinei saw a smile underneath the scarf as he approached and she pointed out information she'd found useful. He sat down beside her in the snow, reading the text in thought. Kurisutaru looked up at him and stared a moment as his hair whipped in the breeze.

"What?" he asked when he noticed her gaze.

"I think it's time to cut your hair again," she replied.

Freezing a moment, he said quickly, "No, it isn't."

There was a twitch of fabric to indicate a smirk. "Yes, it is. I think we should cut it while we're here."

He grumbled something intangible that resembled, "Over my dead body."

Kurisutaru chuckled to herself before returning her attention to the book, scribbling tiny pictures next to the text as possibilities.


	12. Chapter 12: Crack in the Foundation

**Chapter 12: Crack in the Foundation**

Kurisutaru clutched the photograph in her hand and read the text again. "It should be only a quarter of a mile higher," she said. They had found a rock in the books that could hold genjutsu well and it happened to be located in a mountain two miles from Soichi's home. Teinei and Kurisutaru had decided to go alone and leave Naruto and Soichi behind to train.

The type of stone they were searching for was very high and the two were using their chakra to strengthen their hands' grips in the climb. "There's a ledge a few feet up. We'll take a break there," Teinei informed. He wore a pair of black gloves and a white scarf around his neck since Yuuta had insisted and they were the only ones that fit him and weren't for girls.

Once they reached the tiny ledge, Kurisutaru sat and attempted to catch her breath. "This is a pretty good workout," she joked.

"Getting down will be interesting, at least."

She didn't answer, removing a glove and reaching through the snow to feel the underlying rocks. "We're getting close." The text said the rocks would be very warm but wouldn't melt the neighboring snow.

He watched her fish out a small water canteen and take a drink. Tucking it away as she stood, both felt the snow under them shift slightly. Teinei looked at the snow, jerking his head up when he heard Kurisutaru squeak in surprise and try to steady herself. The snow beneath her feet was sliding off the ledge and pulling her with it. Teinei's hand darted out and gripped her arm, but her feet still flew off the edge and gravity brought him to his stomach, free hand gripping at the snow. He felt her muscles freeze in the mid-air, dangling and gripping his arm so tightly, it hurt.

"Grip with both hands and I'll pull you up," Teinei said with forced calm.

Her hand reached up, but she immediately lowered it when it caused her grip to wane. "I can't. I'll slip," Kurisutaru insisted.

"Do it! I won't let you fall," he assured with a will stronger than iron.

She felt his hand grip tighter around her arm and winced. It was going to leave a nasty bruise later. Nonetheless, she swung her arm up to grip at Teinei's. Her feet twisted in a feeble attempt to propel herself up but there was nothing her feet could reach.

There was a loud roar and Kurisutaru asked, "What was that?" She saw his eyes widen. "Teinei, what was that noise?"

He pulled himself to his knees before jerking her onto the snow behind him. Teinei looked up to the top of the mountain before roughly pushing her into the side of the mountain, throwing his body against her as a thick ramp of chakra-like white energy diverted the small avalanche away from them. The edge of the ledge they were on broke away, the force of it making Kurisutaru slide into Teinei's legs.

Forcing her limbs to move, her hands began to form seals to harden the snow around them and strengthen his makeshift shield. Kurisutaru lowered her seal when the roaring quieted. Teinei didn't move until the low rumbles stopped, carefully lowering his jutsu while moving the surrounding snow a safe distance away.

Carefully shifting from his defensive position over her, the boy quickly moved a few paces back. "Are you okay?"

She tried desperately to catch her breath, eyes shut tight and nodding. Her eyes opened and Teinei jumped slightly when he didn't see her sky-blue irises. Staring at the ground was a pair of bright-red Sharingan eyes. "I think," she said calmly between breaths, willing her voice to stay level, "that we should hurry and get the stone and get off the mountain."

"I think so, too," he answered.

Kurisutaru rested her face in one hand, closing her eyes again. "I feel really tired right now and I don't know why."

He wondered if the Sharingan had been activated during the entire avalanche, draining her chakra. "Come on, I'll help you," he said as he offered his hand.

She looked at his hand before looking directly into his eyes. Though it was truly only in her eyes, it seemed to have transformed her whole face. It was if she was an entirely different person, but he—of course—knew better. The red faded to blue and the extra pupils vanished, and Kurisutaru took his hand.

In one swift movement, Teinei stood, pulled Kurisutaru to her feet, and turned with their hands still connected. He knelt slightly to ease her access. "Hop on," he said.

He could feel her hesitation as she climbed on his back. Releasing her hand, she wrapped both arms securely around his neck. Teinei assisted her as she latched her knees around his hips and waited patiently until she was comfortable.

"Are you ready?"

He felt her nod where her face rested against his shoulder blade. Teinei asserted his feet and hands into the snowy mountainside and began scaling the landmark. He knew his concentration should have been fully on the task at hand, but he couldn't ignore the feeling of Kurisutaru's reflexive apprehension to the contact.

When she began to relax, he asked, "Kurisutaru?"

"Yeah?"

He tried to search for the right words. He knew Motobe had done something to her, it was forever burned into his mind, but he would give anything to know what he did to affect her this way. "You know I would never do anything to hurt you, right?"

There was a long silence before her arms tightened around his neck. "I know," she whispered.

He moved slower, feeling for rock underneath the snow carefully. "Then why are you afraid?"

"I'm not."

"You are. You can't lie to me."

She maintained a shameful silence. "I don't mean to be. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he replied. Teinei sighed heavily. "I just wish you would tell me what happened." He expected the silence that followed, even the uncomfortable shift of her body.

His hand nearly jerked away, out of the snow, when it touched rock that felt scorching hot even through the glove. He knew it wouldn't have felt so hot if not for the cool of contrasting snow against his skin, but he didn't mind since it was what the book described.

Pushing the snow out of the way, he began the delicate process of detaching a large enough portion of the rock. Slipping their prize into his ninja pack, he put a hand on Kurisutaru's arms. Her even breathing told him she was resting, but not yet asleep. Energy flowed to his feet and the snow beneath them as he drew a deep breath.

Hanging on to Kurisutaru with one hand and balancing with the other, he allowed himself to drop from the ninety degree-angled slope until it began to slant. Teinei maintained his balance and kept the landing soft as his feet glided over the snow as if he were standing on an invisible snowboard.

At the bottom of the mountain, he slowed to a stop and began walking back to the Raito house. When he had trudged the first of the two miles, he felt his passenger shift.

"Teinei?" she asked to check if he was listening.

Of course he was listening. "Hmm?"

"I can walk the rest of the way, if you put me down."

"Are you still tired?"  
"Yes, but if I walk the rest of the way, I should be able to sleep through the night. Besides, it feels weird back here."

He chuckled to himself, pausing to let her slide off his back. The two walked in absolute silence for three-quarters of the remaining mile. The house was in view when Teinei stopped, blocking his friend's path as he turned around.

"Kurisutaru, please tell me," he pleaded, "I want to help you."

She bit her lower lip, closed her eyes, and shook her head.

"Why?"

"I can't."

"You can tell me anything. You always have! Why won't you tell me this?" he urged, hands on her shoulders. This wasn't the first time they had this conversation. It always ended in tears and no answers, so he was more or less shocked when she opened her mouth to speak.

"Because you'll kill him!" she answered with tear-filled eyes. There started the waterworks.

"If it bothers you that much, then I won't," he insisted.

Kurisutaru shook her head violently. "You will, I know you will!" She opened her eyes to see him staring back, confused and shocked at once. She sniffled, "I know how you react to a lot of things and I know you'll kill him."

He cupped his hands to her cheeks to hold her gaze as she tried to turn her head. "I'll control myself! Please, just tell me!"

"Stop asking!" she begged, pushing his hands away before she sprinted for the house.

He could have easily caught her, but he let her run ahead. Teinei only maintained enough speed to keep up at a distance until they reached the yard.

Kurisutaru slowed to a fast walk and went passed Naruto and Soichi, who were still training. "Do a few more exercises and then you can stop. I'm going to bed," she notified.

Making a beeline for her bedroom, she stayed there, sifting through her frustration until she calmed. Hiding it from Teinei was eating her from the inside out and telling Naruto had made her realize just how much. She concluded that she had to tell him before the trip was over so he could cool down before they returned to Konoha.

She was surprised when Soichi entered several hours earlier than she had expected. Kurisutaru was curled in a ball with her pillow in her arms and lying on her side.

"Are you okay? You looked upset downstairs."

"I'm fine," she answered, "I'm just tired."

Soichi's concerned face dug through her back. "What's wrong?" she asked, sitting on the bed beside her.

"It's nothing. What about you? Why are you going to bed so early?"

"Are you kidding? I'm exhausted!" she replied. "I have muscles hurting that I didn't even know existed!"

"If you think you're sore today, wait until tomorrow," Kurisutaru answered. She supposed Houkou would have supplied Soichi with the energy required to train without tiring, but the change of pace must've been new to both of them. Houkou did appear to have helped, though, or Soichi would not only have the problem of sore muscles.

Soichi groaned loudly, "No way!"

"Just sleep with some heat packs on your back and sleep on your stomach. It'll help."

"I don't think we have any."

"And I only have one, and that won't do any good."

"Thanks for trying," she chuckled.

Teinei stood by the window, foot tapping impatiently. His back leaned against the wall as he stared out the window, and it gave him the appearance of a war assassin on a stakeout. Naruto watched him exhale, nerves leaking through for the thirty-seventh time.

"What the hell is going on?" Naruto asked, unable to stand the tense silence.

"Kurisutaru seems to think I'll overreact if she tells me something."

"Overreact how?"

"Kill somebody."

Naruto looked into the older boy's face. His expression was troubled, focused, and distant. "Do you mean Motobe?"

Teinei nodded.

"Why is it so important you know?"

"It's changed her, and I can't stand it." He wiped his face with his hand. "I thought that, maybe just knowing what happened, I can do something to help her."

"Somehow, I doubt there is anything," he replied.

"What do you know?" he demanded, suspicious.

Naruto shut his mouth before answering quickly, "I'm tired. Good-night."

Teinei shrugged and climbed to the roof. When the moon set around two o'clock, he crawled inside to sleep.

He was surprised to be woken less than fifteen minutes later by Soichi shaking his shoulders. "Teinei? Teinei, wake up," she said desperately, "It's Kurisutaru."

He leapt to his feet and ran out of the room to Kurisutaru's flicking on the light. He felt Naruto and Soichi follow, but he ignored it.

It was a familiar, unwelcome sight. Kurisutaru was breathing heavily, twisting helplessly in the bed with quiet cries. "Kurisutaru?" he called.

Teinei moved closer to the bed and placed a hand on her sweating forehead, her body trembling with panic. His choker glowed and her breathing became less labored and she tossed less. He removed his hand from her forehead.

"Wake up, Kurisutaru," he encouraged quietly. He repeated variations of the phrase gently until her eyes snapped open with a gasp and her gaze shifted wildly around the room.

Catching her breath as her gaze fell on him, she sat up and put her face in her hands. "It was just a nightmare," she breathed.

Teinei nodded, reassuring her discovery. "Go back to sleep."

"I will in a minute. Thanks," Kurisutaru answered as he left the room.

Soichi sat on the bed. "You scared me."

"Sorry," she answered. Looking up at Naruto's concerned figure, she added, "Let's just go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke everyone." Kurisutaru lied down, facing away from Soichi and the door.

Naruto paused before returning to his room with a yawn, readjusting his strange green sleeping hat and Soichi settled on the floor in a mass of blankets next to her cousin to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13: Haircut

**Chapter 13: Haircut**

Teinei shooed, "No! Go away!"

Kurisutaru rested her hands on her hips and frowned disapprovingly. "I thought we were past this!"

Crouching like a feral cat on the roof out of his friend's reach, he scowled. "I don't need a haircut!" he protested.

"You'll be fine," she insisted, "You know I won't hurt you."

"I know _you_ won't, but--"

She cut him off, knowing how the rest of the sentence would proceed. "Fine, then! Closed room," she surrendered. Kurisutaru returned inside and cleared her room in order to keep her word.

This satisfied Teinei and he entered cautiously, placing a barrier around the room that would warn him if someone approached. When one is always watching for oncoming sharp objects, it's very unsettling to allow one so near their head. He worried his guard would be too low if an attack arose. It wasn't a chance he wanted to take, especially with Kurisutaru so close.

Sitting in the chair strategically placed in the center of the room, Teinei tightly closed his eyes to prepare himself for the upcoming event. Kurisutaru approached the chair with the scissors in hand an announced, "Here we go."

He kept his eyes closed, but more loosely, during the procedure. Kurisutaru decided it was now or never as she straightened the ends while she was finishing. Small talk had been calming him, so she decided it was a good time for her.

"I went to the market," she began.

Believing it was current information in his state of relaxation, he hummed briefly as a sign to continue. "How'd it go?"

A moment of hesitation delayed her speech as Kurisutaru said, "I ran into Motobe."

His thoughts skidded to a stop. There was no way Motobe was in the Land of Snow. Teinei opened his eyes and turned them in Kurisutaru's direction where she was trimming by his right ear.

"He was normal… at first," she continued. A few clips of hair fell to the floor in silence. "But I got hit in the head and blacked out."

Kurisutaru clipped away until she was at his bangs. Teinei watched her face and studied it carefully while she focused on his hair with a forcefully neutralized face. Though her hands were slow and steady, he saw her arms quivering. Unable to bear the silence, he asked quietly, "Kurisutaru?"

She cleared her throat carefully. "I woke up in a room full of other boys, and Motobe was there, too. I don't know where I was." As she brushed stray pieces of cut edges from Teinei's shoulders and set down the scissors, she scratched a spot by her left cheekbone. "They weren't happy when I didn't listen to them."

Continuing to comb out his hair with her fingers to remove the tiny, stray pieces further, one of Teinei's hands reached up and grabbed one of hers. Her free hand still combed slowly as she cleared her throat again to solidify her voice.

Keeping her voice low, she said, "They raped me."

His head jerked up and his eyes widened drastically at the girl who was just to his left. Teinei was speechless and watched as tears began to stream down Kurisutaru's face and her gaze stayed on his hair to avoid looking him in the eyes.

Her hand moved from his hair as he stood and she choked, "Please, don't get mad."

Teinei discovered he wasn't angry. He wasn't angry with Motobe and the other men for doing it and he wasn't mad at Kurisutaru for not telling him. At least, not at the present moment. He felt numb and wanted nothing more than for Kurisutaru to stop being in pain. Moving slowly out of developed habit, he released her hand—though she clung desperately to it—and wrapped his arms around her shoulders snugly and rested her chin on her left shoulder.

Kurisutaru wept quietly and sniffled into Teinei's shoulder, touching her hands to his elbows in what was either a half-hug or a precaution to remove his arms. He wasn't for sure. She didn't hear the few sniffles from her friend as he whispered, "I'm sorry," over and over again.

He was supposed to protect her! How did he not stop something like this? Why didn't he figure it out? He felt like a failure. Not just any failure: a disgraceful failure. Kurisutaru had been suffering alone for years because he had been stuffing his face at breakfast instead of going along to protect her!

To him, she felt small in his arms like she was a child. When it seemed her tears had slowed, Teinei whispered, "Are you okay?"

Kurisutaru inhaled deeply before nodding slowly. "Yeah," she croaked.

"Do you want some hot tea?" he offered.

She nodded and began to pull away to retrieve it, but Teinei tightened his grip slightly. "I'll get it," he declared quietly, "Just stay here."

As Teinei left the room, Kurisutaru swept up the hair and threw it away. Every movement felt like rusted metal in jerky slowness. She had the horrible feeling of being bare and exposed again, and she hated it. Quickly finding a suitable corner of the room, she retreated to it. With her back to the wall, she immediately felt less exposed.

Teinei returned a few minutes later with tea and a warm compress. A brief moment of panic struck him when he didn't see her right away, but he soon discovered the corner. He passed her the cup before sitting down beside her. Watching her drink a while, he noticed she seemed pale.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Fine," she lied. "What's the compress for?"

"For your eyes," he replied, "So they don't swell."

"Thanks," she mumbled as she took the compress.

"I think," Teinei concluded as he brushed a piece of hair from her eyes, "You should rest inside today." He let his palm rest on her forehead for a few moments to check for fever and found above-normal warmth.

"I feel fine," she insisted, "Besides, I have to show Soichi as much as possible before we leave."

"I'll handle it today. Just focus on feeling better so you can join us," he said. Though he knew she could handle the fever, he wanted her to relax and rest so she wouldn't feel any worse. He assumed emotional stress was partly the cause of her illness, and he didn't blame her. The climate change couldn't be helping any, either.

"But, I--"

"Think of it as an opportunity to catch up on your reading," he interrupted.

Kurisutaru huffed in exasperation. There was no arguing with Teinei when his mind was set. "All right," she surrendered.

Standing, he reminded her about the compress for her eyes with a hand gesture. "I'll check on you later. Just holler if you need anything," he notified before leaving.

After her tea was finished, Kurisutaru retreated to the bed and laid the compress comfortably over her eyes. She began mental exercises to attempt to control the Sharingan to test later.

Teinei shifted Soichi's hands slightly and straightened her index fingers. "And that's the sign of the horse," he announced, "You'll have to practice all twelve of these hand seals as much as possible so your muscles will remember them. They should be reflexive and effortless."

Soichi nodded with determination flaming in her expression. "Got it."

"Today, we'll be working on basic chakra control. Illusions and genjutsu will probably be your strong points because of Houkou, so we're going to get some of that out of the way first. Ninjutsu and taijutsu will be a little more challenging--"

"_I'll_ say…" she grumbled, still sore from the previous day.

He ignored her and continued, "But I think you'll do fine."

Soichi sighed. "When's the next break?" she asked tiredly. She was used to having meals widely spaced, but not when there was so much physical activity to drain her energy.

"There won't be one if you keep asking," he answered. It was only the second time she asked, but he wanted her to focus. He wouldn't do that, anyway. He wasn't cruel. He wasn't his father…

She was accustomed to such threats and let out a deep breath. "Okay," she said. The dry, tight feeling of thirst in her throat and mouth begged for water, but she was afraid to ask.

Teinei noticed Soichi's discomfort. "What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied quickly.

Realizing his error, Teinei said, "I'll be right back." He went inside and quickly returned with a canteen of water. He handed it to Soichi. "If you're thirsty, you should just say so."

She eyed the canteen in her hands carefully. Did he do something to it? Was it a trick? She looked back up at him. "I'm not thirsty," she lied.

"Don't be ridiculous," Teinei replied, "Drink." He pushed on the bottom of the canteen to raise it closer to her face. "The sooner you do, the sooner we can get back to work."

Watching him and the canteen cautiously, she took a slow drink. Once she became convinced it wasn't a trick, she continued quickly. Teinei waited patiently for her to finish, meanwhile staring up at the window to Kurisutaru's room in thought. He wanted to go check on her, but he couldn't do that until lunch.

Soichi pulled him back to reality when he heard her groan in disappointment when there was no water left. Teinei sighed a laugh. "Do you need more?"

"No, I should be able to last until lunch," she answered. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he replied. "Are you ready?"

Soichi nodded and for the next several hours, Teinei showed her all the basic chakra control exercises. For some of the exercises, he instructed her to only use them when she mastered certain other ones. Her favorite exercise seemed to be the tree-climbing exercise even though she couldn't do it yet.

When they went inside for lunch, Teinei immediately retreated to Kurisutaru's room to check on her. He knocked softly, but there was no answer, so he opened the door slowly. Her appearance instantly told him she was asleep.

Her skin and clothes were drenched in sweat. Pieces of glistening, raven hair stuck to her skin and the warm compress over her eyes. Teinei carefully lifted the cooled compress from her eyes and touched his hand to her forehead. Her fever had grown worse since he last checked. It was beginning to worry him.

Teinei shook her shoulder gently. "Kurisutaru?"

Eyes opening sleepily, she groaned, "Hmm?" Kurisutaru looked around before asking, "What time is it?"

"It's about one. Do you want to eat something?"

She dragged her sweaty hair out of her face with an unfocused, sloppily-moving hand. "I need a shower," she muttered in thought with a sigh.

"I think Yuuta is giving Kaido a bath right now, so do you want to eat first and then shower?" he proposed.

"Okay," she breathed.

Kurisutaru sat up slowly with Teinei's hand hovering at her back in case she lost her balance or needed assistance. Her fingertips rubbed at her temples. "I have such a headache," she mumbled.

"Where does it hurt?"

"A little just about everywhere," she answered.

"Close your eyes and stay still a second," he instructed.

She did so, lowering her hands to give him access. Teinei rested one hand over her eyes and forehead and the other at the base of her head at the back. Focusing the energy in his choker to his hands, he closed his own eyes to focus on slightly shrinking the painfully-swelled veins in Kurisutaru's brain like painkillers would. When his hands lowered and eyes opened, he watched her relax visibly.

"How's that?" he asked.

Her eyes opened and she cracked a soft smile. "Much better. Thanks."

Teinei returned her smile, partially in relief that it helped and partially just because it was Kurisutaru's smile. "I'll see you downstairs, then," he replied as he stood and disappeared down the hall.

He found Soichi eating with Naruto at the table in animated conversation. The discussion's mood seemed very excited between the two and they wore big grins. Teinei felt a prejudiced prickle of anger tiptoe up his spine which he quickly and forcefully shrugged off. He couldn't hate friends or family of Kurisutaru. He just couldn't.

When Teinei turned to retrieve lunch for himself, he felt a dramatic drop in Soichi's chakra and a floor-shuddering _thud_ before Naruto began to panic. "Hey! Soichi, are you okay?" Naruto asked from his place on the floor beside her he now occupied.

Teinei was on the other side of her in the blink of an eye. She was already regaining consciousness, if only slightly. Naruto asked Teinei, "What's wrong with her?"

"She's all right," Teinei said, relieved with his conclusion. "She's been using a lot of chakra, that's all." He propped her neck and made sure she could breathe so she wouldn't suffocate in her unconsciousness.

Placing one hand over her stomach, he forced energy from his choker inside to probe at Houkou's chakra. He released a tiny reserve of Houkou's chakra into Soichi's chakra network. He focused strictly on his task to not disturb the seal on the Bijuu or release too much chakra at once. Once he finished, he removed his hand and nudged Soichi's arm.

"Wake up," he coaxed.

Soichi's eyes blinked like her eyes had only been open so long because she was in a staring contest with a statue. "What happened?" She sat up slowly and looked around.

Teinei checked for a concussion and other head injuries as he answered, "You fainted."

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"Yeah, I feel fine," she replied.

Kaido trampled down the stairs and ran straight into Soichi, Yuuta following at a normal pace behind him. He hugged his sister tightly, nearly knocking her over in his excitement. "Soichi!" he greeted happily.

"Hey, kiddo!" she welcomed.

"Can I have a sammich?"

"Sure, but can I get up, first?"

He moved slightly in an attempt to make it easier for her to stand, but it didn't help much, though she appreciated the thought. Soichi slowly climbed to her feet with Kaido wrapped around her neck and waist like a baby monkey and remained there as she made his sandwich.

Kurisutaru soon joined them in the dining room, and Naruto immediately declared, "You look horrible, Kurisutaru!"

Craning around Soichi to see his cousin, Kaido recognized a sick person and chirped, "Does your tummy not feel good?"

"Something like that," she answered in a forced chuckle at his adorableness. "Yuuta, is there any oatmeal left?"

"Not much, but yes," she replied.

"Would it be all right if I had that? I don't feel like eating much." She hoped with the less amount of food wouldn't make her nausea worse.

"Sure; I'll heat it up for you." While Yuuta retrieved the food, she commented, "Actually, I'm surprised it took you this long."

"Hmm?" Kurisutaru hummed quizzically.

"The climate change: I thought you'd get sick sooner," Yuuta clarified.

As Kurisutaru sat at the dining table, she asked Teinei and Naruto, "Then why aren't you guys sick?"

"I've been here before for a mission," Naruto replied, oblivious that Kyuubi was probably assisting his immune system.

Teinei answered, "I travel a lot, so I'm used to it. Climate changes don't bother me much."

Kurisutaru rested her elbow on the table and placed her head on her palm, trying to focus on not puking. "So unfair," she grumbled.

"You should be fine by tomorrow afternoon or so. It's usually just a 24-hour thing," Yuuta encouraged as she placed the oatmeal in front of her cousin.


End file.
